Date: January 9, 2026
Interviewer: Pastor L
Interviewee: Brother W
Preface:
From late 2025 to early 2026, Yayang Town in Taishun County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, once home to quiet rural churches, was plunged into the most severe turmoil seen in recent years. This conflict was set off by the government’s forcible demand that churches “raise the national flag,” which escalated late at night on December 14, 2025, into a violent clearing operation that shocked observers both in China and abroad.
When thousands of special police (SWAT), shielded by drones and signal-jamming vehicles, launched a surprise assault on unarmed believers who had been keeping vigil through the night, this was no longer merely a dispute over architectural symbols. It became an extreme test by local authorities of the bottom line of faith held by local churches. Yayang Church (雅阳教会), also known as Yazhong Church (雅中教会), because of its firm adherence to its stance of faith, was regarded by the authorities as a “dauntless” and subjected to an assault and purge similar to a “crackdown on gangs.”
This interview records the latest developments following the incident. Through the account of Brother W, the story we see is heartbreaking: the arrest of a man in his seventies, hundreds of thousands of yuan spent on celebratory fireworks, a bell tower reduced to rubble, and a long list of 20 people who remain behind bars to this day. This is not only a history of suffering, but also a trial of the survival conditions facing local churches in China today.
The interviewee could be arrested at any time. We ask people from all walks of life to offer their earnest prayers and attention. We pray that God will protect the Christian brothers and sisters in Yayang; may God defeat all His enemies, and may the wicked schemes of “Haman” end in complete failure.
The Trigger: A Brother in Christ Over Seventy Years Old Defends the Faith, and Faced Retaliation for Refusing to Raise the Red Flag
Pastor L: Hello, Brother W. Regarding the persecution of the Yayang Church in Taishun, Wenzhou, are there any new developments recently?
Brother W: Hello, Pastor L. We have just received a confirmed list of individuals arrested.
Pastor L: I heard that a brother over 70 years old has also been detained. Do you know about this? Given his age, why would the Wenzhou authorities still detain him?
Brother W: Yes. This elderly brother is named Cai Wangling (蔡旺玲) and belongs to “Xiuxi Church (秀溪堂).” He is currently the one detained the longest. The incident began when the government forcibly demanded that a red flag be installed at the church. He stepped forward to oppose it in order to protect the church. During the process, the flagpole broke, and government personnel, enraged and humiliated, carried out retaliatory detention against him. He may have been arrested as a “representative case,” with the aim of intimidating other believers.
Pastor L: Besides Yayang Church, have other churches in Yayang Town also faced forced flag installation?
Brother W: All 12 churches in the town have faced this issue. The government has attempted to install flags forcibly, but these churches have been very courageous. Starting in June of last year, authorities attempted comprehensive flag installations, but at that time, only one church was “successfully” forced to comply; they did not succeed with the others. It was only recently that they adopted a full-scale deployment, spending three or four days forcibly installing flags at the other 11 churches. In the end, only Yayang Church (Yazhong Church) remained standing.
(Image Source: ChinaAid)
Violence at 3 a.m.: Drone Surveillance and a “Gang-Crackdown–Style” Clearing Operation
Pastor L: Can you reconstruct in detail what happened at Yayang Church on December 14 last year?
Brother W: December 14 last year was a Sunday. After the congregation met at the church at 2:00 p.m., people stayed on to guard the building. Police cars kept arriving one after another. By around 10:00 p.m., large numbers of police began clearing the area. According to eyewitnesses, about forty to fifty buses were deployed. Early estimates put the number of police and special police at over a thousand; supplementary information suggested there were even more. Each bus can carry forty to fifty people. They were transferred in from other counties, mostly young special police officers, and possibly some young students from police academies, along with local government staff. So the number of personnel dispatched by the government that night was far more than a thousand. They deployed such a massive scale of police power solely to suppress a local church.
At around 3:00 a.m. on the 15th, the government deployed drones for surveillance and signal-jamming vehicles, cutting off all our communications. All mobile phones were confiscated. At about 3:30 a.m., police forcibly broke in, blasting and smashing their way into the church with extreme violence. At that time, there were still more than a hundred people inside the church, while another hundred-plus had taken their children and left earlier. At 3:00 a.m., police put black hoods over the heads of the brothers and sisters and forcibly cleared them out, deliberately creating an atmosphere of terror, using counterterrorism-style tactics against gentle and law-abiding Christians who were gathering normally.
Absurd “Celebration”: Firework Show Over the Ruins and a “Commendation Conference”
Pastor L: What exactly was the trigger for this incident?
Brother W: At the core, it was that Yayang Church had consistently refused to allow the installation of the national flag.
Yayang Town Mayor Li Bin (李斌) had already led a group in June to smash church door locks (there was a video at the time showing Li Bin leading a team to break church door locks; it was mistakenly circulated as the Yayang Church door being smashed, but in fact it was another church, “Yayangxi/雅阳溪” Church). This time, the government launched a full assault on Yayang Church under the pretext of a “crackdown on gangs” campaign. Most ironically, after the clearing operation succeeded on the night of the 15th, they spent hundreds of thousands of yuan on fireworks to celebrate and even held a commendation conference, proclaiming slogans such as “Listen to the Party, follow the Party.”
Judicial Escalation: Wenzhou City Bureau Steps In, Lawyers Denied Access
Pastor L: With so many police deployed, even using signal-jamming vehicles, this does not seem like something the Taishun local government alone could have planned, does it?
Brother W: It was definitely decided at the top level of Wenzhou City. Local police in Taishun openly said they could not make the decision and told us to ask the “higher-ups.” The most unmistakable evidence is that brothers such as Lin Enzhao (林恩兆) and Lin Enci (林恩慈) were not detained locally in Taishun, but were sent directly to the Wenzhou City Detention Center, with lawyers strictly barred from meeting them. This clearly bypassed routine procedures, with the case taken over directly by the municipal public security bureau.
Total Lockdown: 20 People Still Detained, Church Bell Tower Leveled
Pastor L: What is the current, more accurate number of people still being detained?
Brother W: At present, 20 individuals have not been released. In the Lin family alone, four brothers were arrested. The government seems intent on “settling old and new scores all at once.”
(Image Source: ChinaAid)
Pastor L: Why do you say that?
Brother W: As early as ten years ago, during the government-launched campaign to demolish crosses, they firmly defended the cross. The government has long held a deep grudge against them.
Pastor L: They are genuinely very courageous, yet this time they were smeared as a “criminal gang”?
Brother W: Yes, I know them personally. Seeing them treated this way weighs heavily on my heart. They are brothers and sisters who love the Lord very much and are highly respected within the church.
(Image Source: ChinaAid)
Pastor L: Has the lockdown in Yayang Town been lifted now?
Brother W: No. The government is currently completely suppressing information, fearing leaks. Yayang Church is still under siege. The bell tower, the education building, and the kitchen have all been demolished, and the cross has also been removed. Drones are monitoring the area, and anyone who takes photos, records videos, or posts online will be arrested.
At other churches, government personnel are stationed inside every week to conduct surveillance. In every village with Christians, government staff are assigned and stationed to monitor them.
Appendix: List of the 20 Individuals Not Yet Released
Pastor L: The situation this time is indeed more severe than before. Can you provide the list of the 20 detained brothers and sisters?
Brother W: Yes. The list includes:
- Lin Enzhao (林恩兆)
- Lin Enci (林恩慈)
- Lin Enfeng (林恩丰)
- Lin Enmin (林恩敏)
- Lin Endian (林恩店)
- Lin Enyu (林恩宇)
- Wang Xiaocong (王晓聪)
- Ji Qingcou (季庆凑)
- Wang Jingjing/王靜静 (Ji’s wife)
- Wang Qijun (王启俊)
- Mao Dalin (毛大林)
- Ou Xiasi (欧夏斯)
- Liu Jie (刘杰)
- Bao Xingpei (包兴培)
- Lai Zhibin (赖志斌)
- Zhou Enyue (周恩越)
- Lin Enlian (林恩恋)
- Ji Aijuan (季爱娟)
- He Meilan (何美兰)
- Cai Wangling (蔡旺玲) from Xiuxi Church (秀溪堂)
Pastor L: Thank you for accepting the interview. We will continue to follow this case and pray for the suffering brothers and sisters.
Postscript
As the interview ended, Brother W’s tone was heavy yet resolute. After the fireworks of that “victory celebration,” which reportedly cost hundreds of thousands of yuan, faded away, what remained for Yayang Church were broken walls and shattered families. Four brothers of the Lin family were imprisoned, and several brothers and sisters, denied access to lawyers, were detained in the Wenzhou Detention Center, far from their homes.
This operation, carried out under the banner of “Listen to the Party, follow the Party,” attempted to erase the marks of faith by demolishing crosses and the bell tower. However, as history has repeatedly shown, church walls can be torn down, but the sanctuary in the hearts of believers is far harder to shake. The stark contrast between the authorities’ “commendation conference” and the people’s quiet mourning and watchfulness creates a deep irony.
We hereby call on advocates of justice at home and abroad, members of the legal community, the U.S. administration, the European Union, and the global church to jointly pay attention to the future of these 20 detainees. Every name on the list represents a living person, a husband and wife, a father, or an elder. Justice may be delayed, but we refuse to forget. Under the intense pressure of information blockades and drone surveillance, please speak out for these brothers and sisters who stand firm in the valleys of southern Zhejiang, until the oppressed are set free and those wronged receive justice. Amen!
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