(Guiyang—March 17, 2026) On March 16, 2026, as the chilly air of early spring shrouded this southwestern mountain city, Zhang Chunlei (张春雷), one of China’s well-known advocates for unofficial churches, completed his five-year sentence. His release marks the conclusion of a high-profile case in the Chinese authorities’ crackdown on unregistered house churches in recent years.
Zhang Chunlei, 62, is the co-founder and elder of the Guiyang Ren’ai Reformed Church (仁爱归正教会). In the eyes of church members, he is a gentle yet firm spiritual leader; however, in the eyes of the authorities, he is a dissident who poses a threat to social stability.
The turning point for Zhang Chunlei dates back to 2018. At that time, he and hundreds of pastors nationwide co-signed the “Declaration for the Sake of the Christian Faith,” publicly protesting government restrictions on religious activities. That collective voice immediately triggered a wave of crackdowns across the country. In September of the same year, the Ren’ai Reformed Church’s meeting point at Zhongtian Business Port was forcibly shut down. From then on, Zhang Chunlei and his congregation began years of “guerrilla-style” religious life, meeting secretly in restaurants, hotels, and private homes.
Zhang Chunlei’s imprisonment began with a Chunlei’s imprisonment began with a confrontation that skirted the law. On March 16, 2021, when more than a dozen believers were taken away by police during a small group study, Zhang Chunlei went to the police station to attempt a rescue, only to lose his own freedom.
Authorities initially handled the case as “administrative detention” before upgrading it to criminal charges. In the final verdict, the court characterized his fundraising, offerings and tithings as “fraud” and added a more serious political charge: “inciting subversion of state power.”
“This legal strategy of defining religious offerings as fraud and equating faith activities with subversion reflects the authorities’ attempt to completely dismantle the survival space of house churches from both economic and political dimensions,” noted a legal expert who has long observed China’s religious situation.
Five years of imprisonment have left a deep mark on the elder’s body. During his detention, Zhang Chunlei’s health status sparked public concern several times. According to his family and defense lawyers, he was hospitalized for severe cholecystitis and diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and hypertension. Despite his physical weakness, he refused to plead guilty in prison, insisting that his activities were purely out of a heart for the Christian mission.
Zhang Chunlei’s release does not mean an end to harassment. Based on previous cases, politically and religiously sensitive figures like him usually continue to face long-term residential surveillance, travel restrictions, and social isolation after completing their sentences.
As China continues to strengthen the “Sinicization” of the religious field, the society that greets Ren’ai Reformed Church’s Zhang Chunlei as he walks out of the prison gates will be one where religious space is further compressed and the surveillance network is even more pervasive.
