(ChinaAid Association — April 16, 2026) The local Jinhao Regional Service Center determined that a Christian in Tumote Left Banner, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, was engaging in “illegal religious activities” simply for attending a prayer meeting in a rented residence. The landlord was accused of “providing a venue for illegal religious activities.” Authorities have formally issued a notice ordering the landlord to immediately terminate the lease and evict the tenant, or face administrative penalties, administrative detention, and potentially more severe legal consequences.
According to reports, the property in question was targeted in a joint operation by the Jinhao Regional Service Center, the Religious Affairs Bureau, and public security authorities. The tenant, identified as “Brother B” (pseudonym), was classified as an “internet-based illegal proselytizer” (a term reportedly used officially for the first time) and a “key target for strict crackdown.” Authorities alleged that he had “long used the rental property to organize illegal proselytizing and activities undermining national political security,” constituting what they described as a “serious security risk.” The official investigation emphasized that such prayer gatherings in private residences have now been elevated to the level of threatening “national political security.”
From Repeated “Advisories” to Forced Intervention: Private Spaces Become Surveillance Targets
A service center in Tumote Left Banner claimed that staff and local police had previously contacted the landlord multiple times, “kindly informing” the landlord of the tenant’s “illegal behavior” and “advising” termination of the lease. However, the landlord did not comply immediately despite prolonged communication. On April 10, the center formally issued a notice explicitly defining the landlord’s act of “facilitating illegal religious activities” as unlawful.
This move reveals that under China’s religious management system, private residences are no longer considered spaces of personal freedom. Even one or several Christians quietly praying or reading the Bible at home or in a rented apartment may be forcibly interfered with by grassroots organizations under the pretext of “illegal religious activities.” This practice of linking ordinary religious expression to “national political security” highlights systematic suppression of unregistered house churches.
Weaponization of Law: Heavy Fines to Deter Landlords and Christians
The notice specifically cites Article 71 of the Regulations on Religious Affairs: “Those who provide conditions for illegal religious activities shall be given a warning by the religious affairs department… and in serious cases, fined between 20,000 and 200,000 RMB.” Authorities also invoked public security regulations governing rental housing, emphasizing that no individual may provide premises for “illegal religious activities.”
Observers note that such regulations have increasingly been used in practice as tools to suppress religious freedom. The determination of what constitutes “illegal religious activities” rests entirely with religious affairs authorities and public security organs, without independent judicial review. Whether a house gathering is deemed to “undermine national political security” often depends on subjective judgments by local officials rather than objective harm. The threat of heavy fines and possible detention is aimed not only at landlords but also at creating economic and personal pressure that compels ordinary citizens not to rent to Christians or participate in similar gatherings, producing a chilling effect and social isolation.
The Coercive Logic Behind “Strongly Urges”
The service center demanded that the landlord “immediately cooperate” in terminating the lease and completing the eviction. Authorities stressed that refusal to comply would result in full responsibility for consequences, including administrative penalties, administrative detention, and disciplinary sanctions. This firm stance indicates that pressure is no longer limited to Christians themselves but is now being extended to ordinary citizens who provide space, in an apparent effort to cut off house church activities through a form of collective liability.
The operation this time has been officially framed as an effort to “standardize religious affairs management and eliminate social security risks.” However, observers argue that it reflects the core of the Chinese Communist Party’s policy of “Sinicization of religion”: not the protection of citizens’ freedom of belief, but the requirement that all religious activities submit to Party leadership and be incorporated into the official “Three-Self” system. Any unapproved private gathering, no matter how peaceful and quiet, is treated as a potential challenge to state control.
A Broader Warning
ChinaAid Association notes that similar crackdowns, harassment, and forced closures targeting house churches across China have intensified in recent years. The revised Public Security Administration Punishments Law at the end of 2025 further incorporated “illegal religious activities” into explicit punishable categories, providing more tools for grassroots enforcement. The Tumote Left Banner incident once again demonstrates how authorities are using “national security” as a justification to compress the most basic spaces for freedom of belief and residence.
For landlords and the general public, renting property now involves not only economic considerations but also the risk of being drawn into politically sensitive religious control. This governance model, which politicizes private life, effectively erodes what remains of citizens’ autonomous space in Chinese society.
