(Beihai – March 3, 2026) Behind the cold iron bars of the Beihai Detention Center in Guangxi, Pastor Ezra Jin (金明日) spent a Spring Festival without dumplings. As an individual with diabetes, the only consolation during the holiday was the detention center’s allowance to purchase 200 yuan worth of sweets, despite the potential risk this posed to his blood sugar levels.
Since the cross-provincial arrest operation on October 9, 2025, Ezra Jin Mingri and 17 other members of Zion Church (锡安教会) have now spent 143 days in detention. This crackdown, known as the “October 9” church case, marks a more severe new phase in the Chinese government’s years-long structural crackdown on non-official churches (house churches).
Beijing Zion Church was once one of the largest and most active house churches in China. Founded in 2007, the church rapidly grew to several hundred members under the leadership of Ezra Jin, a pastor with an academic background and significant influence. However, this spiritual cohesion outside the state system triggered the authorities’ vigilance.
In 2018, after refusing to install government surveillance cameras in its pulpit area, Zion Church was officially shut down. However, the congregation did not disperse. The arrests carried out in the autumn of 2025 represent the authorities’ latest attempt to sever the church’s network at its roots.
At present, the legal proceedings have fallen into what family members describe as “technical delays.” Although the 18 pastors and co-workers were formally arrested in November last year on suspicion of “illegal use of information networks,” the investigation period has already been extended twice.
In mid-February, the task force applied for another two-month extension of the investigation, citing the reason as “the case being major and complex.” For anxious family members, this means the legal process is becoming a disguised form of prolonged detention.
“The law should exist to seek justice, not to wear down people’s will,” said one family member who requested anonymity.
Inside the detention center, the flow of information is strictly controlled. One of the central points of dispute concerns detainees’ right to read.
It is reported that in the male detention area (Beihai No. 2 Detention Center), Ezra Jin and five other pastors were finally permitted to receive copies of the Bible late last year after prolonged legal negotiations. However, nine female co-workers held in the No. 1 Detention Center are still denied the right to access any religious texts.
Besides the Bible, authorities have prohibited the delivery of all other books. Although official procedures allow non-hardcover books that meet mailing standards, various reading materials repeatedly sent by family members have gone missing. Families and lawyers are considering legal action, questioning whether detention authorities are unlawfully withholding or disposing of detainees’ personal property.
Despite official narratives filled with accusations and smears against the Zion Church, international human rights organizations and global Christian communities continue to issue statements of solidarity. For them, this is not merely an ordinary criminal case, but a litmus test for religious freedom and procedural justice in China.
In the humid air of Beihai, the “wives’ group” of Zion Church continues its efforts. In their statements, they quote Scripture, praying that “let justice roll on like a river.” Between drawn-out legal procedures and steadfast faith, it is becoming an important window into observing the boundaries of religious governance in contemporary China.
Gao Zhensai, Special Correspondent for ChinaAid