(Wenzhou, Zhejiang – April 16, 2026) A well-known house church pastor from Pingyang County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, is set to stand trial next week. This marks the latest move in the Chinese government’s long-standing crackdown on Christian leaders in the region.
According to legal documents obtained on Wednesday, the case of Pastor Huang Yizi of Fengwo Church (凤卧堂) in Pingyang County will hold a pretrial conference on April 20. The formal trial is scheduled for April 24–25 at the Pingyang County Court. Huang Yizi is charged with “illegal business operations,” a charge that in recent years has increasingly been used against clergy involved in publishing religious materials or conducting unofficial religious fundraising.
A Confrontation That Lasted A Decade
Huang Yizi, 51, is a fourth-generation Christian. In Wenzhou, often referred to as the “Jerusalem of the East,” he is not only a pastor but also a symbol of resistance against the government’s cross-removal campaigns.
His legal troubles began in 2014, when the Zhejiang provincial government launched a large-scale campaign to demolish “illegal structures,” with church crosses as primary targets. In July 2014, a violent clash occurred at Salvation Church (救恩堂) in Pingyang County, where more than 100 believers attempting to protect the cross were injured.
Huang Yizi was arrested after participating in negotiations with the government following the incident and organizing Christians to calm down through hymn singing and prayer. Although he maintained that he had no involvement in the violence, he was sentenced to one year in prison on the charge of “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order.”
Repeated Detentions and Surveillance
“He has always lived under a magnifying glass,” said a local Christian who requested anonymity due to safety concerns. “Even after his release, his life never returned to what it was before.”
Shortly after his release in 2015, Huang Yizi was again placed under Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (RSDL) on suspicion of “illegally providing state secrets or intelligence to an organization, institution, or personnel outside the country.” This form of detention, unique to China, allows authorities to hold suspects without formal charges. Although he was later released, his online sermon broadcasts were frequently interrupted, and his personal freedom remained under tight surveillance.
New Charges in 2026
The most recent incident occurred on June 26, 2025. Witnesses reported that police forcibly entered Huang Yizi’s home to conduct a search and took him away without prior notice. At the same time, four other Christians in Zhejiang were also detained.
The act of labeling religious activities as “illegal business operations” has become a strategy used by Chinese authorities in recent years to control unregistered churches. Because Chinese law strictly prohibits the unauthorized printing of religious materials, many pastors who distribute Bibles, Bible audio players (as in Huang Yizi’s case), or hymnals (such as Catholic priest Ma Xianshi in Wenzhou, who was imprisoned for similar reasons) have faced comparable criminal charges.
The Pingyang County Court has not issued any public comment on the case.
For the Christian community in Wenzhou, Huang Yizi’s trial represents not only a judgment on him personally, but also a signal of further shrinking space for religious practice in the region.
