(Beihai, Guangxi Province, southern China – June 16, 2026) A defense attorney representing detained leaders of Beijing Zion Church has secured a rare concession from Chinese authorities, resulting in two imprisoned pastors receiving Bibles and potentially establishing a legal pathway for other Christian detainees to gain access to religious texts.
Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, founder of Beijing Zion Church, was the first of the church’s 18 detained pastors and workers to receive a Bible while being held in Beihai. Last week, Pastor Sun Cong also received a Bible after his attorney successfully challenged detention-center restrictions through an administrative legal process.
The development comes amid an ongoing crackdown on Beijing Zion Church, one of China’s largest and most influential house churches. Authorities shut down the church in 2018 after it refused government demands to install surveillance equipment, and 18 pastors and church workers have remained in detention since a coordinated series of arrests in October 2025.
Sun’s attorney, Christian lawyer Yang Hui, chose not to rely solely on verbal objections to detention-center policies. Instead, he filed an application for administrative reconsideration challenging restrictions that prevented detainees from accessing Bibles.
The challenge prompted a formal written response from the Beihai municipal government. Following the exchange, authorities permitted Yang to deliver a Bible to Pastor Sun, marking a rare accommodation within China’s tightly controlled detention system.
Bob Fu, founder of Texas-based nonprofit ChinaAid, said the significance extends beyond the two pastors who received Bibles.
“The greatest significance of this action is that it has established a legal precedent in a formal written form,” Fu said.
Chinese detention centers often cite security or administrative concerns when restricting detainees’ access to religious materials. The cases involving Jin and Sun represent an unusual exception and may provide a framework for similar requests in future cases.
Founded in 2007 by Pastor Ezra Jin, Beijing Zion Church grew into one of China’s largest urban house churches, drawing thousands of worshippers and operating across multiple cities. After authorities shuttered its Beijing worship facility in 2018, the church continued meeting through smaller gatherings and online ministries.
Judicial pressure on the church intensified following coordinated arrests in October 2025. Eighteen pastors and church workers, including Jin and Sun, remain in detention in Beihai, while several defense attorneys associated with the case have reportedly faced official sanctions or professional restrictions.
Fu said the written government response could prove valuable to attorneys and families representing other detained Christians.
“This means that in the future, family members or defense attorneys of other imprisoned Chinese Christians may be able to use the same lawful channel to deliver Bibles into prisons,” he said.
Rights advocates say the outcome in Sun’s case demonstrates that limited legal remedies may still be available within China’s administrative system, even in politically sensitive religious-freedom cases. Whether the decision will influence detention-center practices elsewhere in China, however, remains unclear.
Founded in 2002, ChinaAid is an international Christian human rights organization committed to promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China through advocacy, legal support, and international awareness campaigns.