Unlawful Detention and Ongoing Harassment
(Hunan – February 14, 2025) A house church pastor in Hunan, Zhao Huaiguo, was unlawfully detained for 545 days in 2020 on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power” after bypassing internet censorship to read news reports and political commentary regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, Pastor Zhao has been subjected to ongoing attention and harassment by the Hunan police and the Religious Affairs Bureau. His wife has also been fined for participating in online courses.
Arbitrary Detention and Financial Penalties
Zhao Huaiguo, the pastor of Bethel Church in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, faced an unlawful search of his home in November 2024 by a group of more than a dozen people from the local government community and the Religious Affairs Bureau. Using the pretext of Pastor Zhao’s wife, Zhang Xinghong, participating in online courses, both Pastor Zhao and his wife were arbitrarily detained for ten days. During this time, authorities intimidated church members into confessing their financial contributions to the pastor and his wife, attempting to fabricate charges against them.
Reports indicate that since the church primarily consists of rural believers, the authorities did not find the evidence they hoped for. However, the local Religious Affairs Bureau still imposed an unfounded penalty of 150,000 yuan under the guise of participating in online courses.
The church has expressed its hope to defend its legitimate religious rights through legal channels.
Repeated Persecution of Bethel House Church and Pastor Zhao Huaiguo
In 2020, Pastor Zhao Huaiguo was prosecuted for “inciting subversion of state power” after using software to bypass internet censorship and access foreign media reports regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2007, Pastor Zhao Huaiguo moved from Northeast China to Cili County, Hunan Province, to spread the gospel. That same year, he founded the Bethel House Church. The church was repeatedly pressured by officials to join the state-controlled “Three-Self Patriotic Association,” but the church refused. Since then, local authorities have persistently sought to find fault with Pastor Zhao.
In March 2019, the Religious Affairs Bureau of Cili County, Hunan, mobilized nearly fifty personnel from the county’s Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, Public Security Bureau, and Urban Management to forcibly break open the doors of the Bethel Church. They destroyed church property, tore down religious symbols from the walls, and confiscated Bibles, hymn books, gospel tracts, a piano, and other church belongings.
On April 10 of the same year, the Cili County Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs issued a notice ordering the closure of the Bethel House Church. The notice stated that, in accordance with the “Regulations on Religious Affairs,” the Bethel Christian Church was an illegal gathering site and had been banned in accordance with the law. It urged Christian believers to conduct religious activities at lawful religious venues.
This demonstrates that the primary reason authorities targeted Pastor Zhao Huaiguo was the repeated refusal of the church he founded to join the state-controlled Three-Self Patriotic Association.
(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid)