May 13, 2026 | ChinaAid News
KAILI, Guizhou Province, China — Authorities in southwest China have arrested six Christians affiliated with a local church on charges including “fraud” and unprecedented accusations of “organizing minors to engage in activities undermining public order.”
Local police have arrested leaders of a house church in Kaili City, located in Guizhou Province in southwest China, according to multiple sources confirmed by ChinaAid. The church leaders include five men — Wei Yongqiang, He Jinbao, Quan Xiaolong, Long Jian, and Cheng Yongbing — and a woman, Zhou Guixia.
According to sources familiar with the case against the Christian believers, the allegations made by Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated officials concerning minors are based primarily on ordinary church activities such as conducting Sunday school classes.
“This is a deeply troubling escalation of China’s campaign against religious freedom,” said Dr. Bob Fu, founder and president of Texas-based nonprofit ChinaAid. “Criminalizing Sunday school and the peaceful sharing of faith with children is an outrageous abuse of law and a direct assault on the fundamental rights of parents and churches.”
Legal experts in China have raised serious concerns regarding both the substance of the charges and the procedural handling of the case.
Under current Chinese law, the offense of “organizing minors to engage in activities undermining public order” has traditionally been applied to conduct involving fighting, theft, or other acts threatening social order.
Religious freedom advocates say that applying such a charge to religious education and family participation in Christian worship represents an expansion of criminal law.
“The constitution of China says it protects religious belief, but in practice the CCP is targeting law-abiding citizens who happen to attend church with their children,” said Fu.
‘Shocking new phase’ of China’s religious persecution
Concerns have also emerged regarding due process violations.
Family members of the detainees promptly retained legal counsel to represent the accused. Yet reports indicate that the Kaili City Procuratorate approved the arrests without properly hearing attorneys’ legal opinions as required by law.
“This case — both the charges and the process — mark a shocking new phase in China’s persecution of religious minorities,” said Fu. “When authorities attempt to equate normal Christian education with threats to public order, it shows how far the CCP is willing to go to suppress independent religious belief.”
Kaili authorities have previously used fraud-related charges against religious leaders. In an earlier case, a Seventh-day Adventist preacher surnamed Zhang was reportedly sentenced to 12 years in prison on fraud charges.
The case comes amid growing alarm over China’s tightening legal restrictions on religious activity.
Observers note that the recently revised Public Security Administration Punishments Law now places so-called “illegal religious activities” alongside “cult organizations” under Article 31. This change has already resulted in multiple cases of pastors and preachers being administratively detained across China.
On the eve of a long-planned meeting in Beijing between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the leader of ChinaAid urges that the nation’s rising persecution of religious minorities be part of the agenda.
“We call on the international community, democratic governments, and human rights organizations to closely monitor this case,” said Fu. “In the public square, let us speak out against an evil system violently oppressing people of faith. And let us remember in prayer our brothers and sisters who are imprisoned, as if we were with them.”
The six Christians remain in detention. Their families and church community are urging continued public attention to the case and calling on judicial authorities to uphold the rule of law, protect citizens’ fundamental rights, and ensure justice is served.
ChinaAid, founded in 2002, is an international, Christian nonprofit human rights organization that inspires, informs, and invites people to transformative action on behalf of persecuted people of all faiths in China.
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