(Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China – July 28, 2026) More than 20 members and leaders of Yayang Christian Church in eastern China remain behind bars months after authorities demolished one of the region’s best-known Protestant churches, according to sources confirmed by ChinaAid.
The detained believers, including two church leaders, remain in custody following a sweeping crackdown that culminated in the demolition of the church after decades of worship.
The church, also known as Yazhong Church, is located in Yayang Township in Taishun County, part of Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province, a prosperous coastal province south of Shanghai in eastern China.
Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province, often called the “Jerusalem of China” because of its large Christian population, has long been one of the country’s most important centers of Protestant Christianity.
The 20 detained believers now face charges including “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order,” “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” and “concealing and intentionally destroying accounting records.”
Authorities have also transferred other church members who served in non-leadership roles for review and possible prosecution.
Mass detentions prior to Christmas
The crackdown began in June 2025, when local officials ordered religious venues to display China’s national flag as part of the government’s “Sinicization of religion” campaign and its “Five Entries and Five Transformations” policy.
On June 24, 2025, township officials forcibly entered the church property to install a flagpole. Church members resisted the effort, and in the months that followed, authorities repeatedly summoned worshippers for questioning and threatened them, according to sources.
The confrontation escalated dramatically on the night of Dec. 14-15, 2025, when authorities deployed more than 1,000 police officers, special police and riot-control personnel from across Wenzhou to surround the church while using drone surveillance and communications jamming.
Hundreds of people were reportedly detained for questioning during the operation. Days later, local authorities held a public mobilization rally that identified religious leaders as targets in an organized crime campaign, further intensifying pressure on the congregation.
In early January 2026, authorities demolished the church’s bell tower and cross using heavy machinery under tight traffic controls.
Prominent church reduced to rubble
By May, the church building—which sources say had been constructed with government approval—had been completely razed after police sealed surrounding roads, evacuated nearby residents and imposed strict surveillance over the area, although news of the demolition eventually emerged.
Church leaders sought to challenge the government’s actions through the courts. However, lawyers representing the congregation were reportedly assaulted by unidentified individuals at their hotel before an administrative hearing, while other attorneys were later denied access to meet with detained clients.
Treating an established church as a “criminal organization” while pursuing multiple criminal charges against its members is highly unusual and represents a significant escalation in the Chinese Communist Party’s campaign against unregistered Protestant congregations. The case follows years of tightening restrictions on religious practice in Zhejiang Province.
Zhejiang previously drew international attention during a government campaign beginning in 2014 to remove hundreds of church crosses, with Wenzhou serving as one of the campaign’s primary targets.
Restrictions on Christians in the region have intensified in recent years despite constitutional protections for religious belief, rights advocates say.
Gao Zhensai is a special correspondent for ChinaAid News. Founded in 2002, ChinaAid is an international Christian human rights organization committed to promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China through advocacy, legal support, and international awareness campaigns.