(Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China — October 29, 2025) It is reported that on October 22, Pastor Huang Yizi, one of the figures involved in the Wenzhou church case, spent his 51st birthday in a detention center. This is the third time since 2014 that he has been unable to celebrate his birthday with his family. Pastor Huang is currently being held on suspicion of “illegal business operations” and has been detained for four months. Despite his circumstances, a visit and conveyed messages from his attorney on the day of his birthday brought him great comfort.
Background: Repeated Detentions Since 2014
Pastor Huang Yizi was taken away by local police on June 26 this year under suspicion of “illegal business operations.” Before this, in 2014, he was sentenced to one year in prison for “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order” after opposing the authorities’ campaign to remove church crosses in Wenzhou forcibly.
Four Months of Detention and Restricted Communication
As of October 29, Pastor Huang Yizi has been detained for four months. According to his lawyer, postcards and books sent by family members and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ still have not been delivered to him. On his birthday, his attorney visited him at the Pingyang County Detention Center and conveyed greetings from relatives, close friends, and brothers and sisters. The “surprise” moved Pastor Huang Yizi to tears, and he expressed his gratitude to all who are thinking of him and praying for him. As well as his longings for his family and friends.
Pastor Huang’s wife, Lin Aili, has indicated that he is unable to communicate with his family or read the Bible in the detention center, and that requests to alter his compulsory detention measures have been denied. Despite ongoing appeals by the family and attorney, his fundamental rights to correspondence and reading remain unprotected.
Letters from Family Bring Strength and Hope
On Pastor Huang’s birthday, family members and brothers and sisters wrote letters and postcards expressing their longing. In her letter, Pastor Huang’s wife, Lin Aili, wrote, “Although you have been away from us for 172 days, not one of us has stopped missing you. Especially on holidays and on your birthday, these special days make us miss you even more, always wishing we could be just a little closer to you. … You are not walking this road alone. We are always here, and the Lord is always with us!”
Pastor Huang’s daughter Xiaoxiao, who is in the United States, also wrote to her father, encouraging him: “You have probably been inside for more than three months now, and I know that it must be very difficult. Even though we are outside the iron bars, our hearts have always remained with you. … But I am thankful that through the uncles and aunts from church and the friends around us, God has let me understand that He has never abandoned our family.”
Health Condition and Spiritual Resilience
It is reported that Pastor Huang Yizi has lost 20 pounds during his months in detention, though his overall condition remains good. His lawyer noted that Pastor Huang remains optimistic, praising him: “Aside from the handcuffs, he is no different from a person who is outside.” Pastor Huang told his lawyer that he had extended time to quiet his heart and read, which was rare for him, and had already finished a several-hundred-page economics textbook and is preparing to read books on sociology. He still longs to read the Bible but has not yet been permitted to do so.
Ongoing Investigation and Delayed Legal Process
The case is still under investigation by the police. On September 29, two months after Pastor Huang’s arrest, police issued a notice extending the detention period by one month, stating the cause to be “complexity of the case.” With this extension of the investigation period, as of October 29, Pastor Huang’s attorney has been involved for nearly four months but has still not met any case officers, a situation the attorney described as “highly unusual.” If police do not request another extension, they must decide by October 29 whether to transfer the case to the procuratorate for review and prosecution.
Reported by Special Correspondent Ning Meng for ChinaAid
