(Xiamen, Fujian — January 5, 2026) A married couple from Taiwan who are members of the Unification Church have recently been subjected to judicial action in Xiamen, Fujian Province, for engaging in proselytizing activities in mainland China. The husband, Chang Pi-hsien (张丕贤), was granted release on bail pending trial on February 12, 2025, while his wife, Lu Chia-chen (吕嘉珍) has recently been sentenced to one year and six months in prison.
According to publicly available information, Lu Chia-chen went to Xiamen for work in 2006 and has resided there long-term. Since 2018, she has served as the “church leader” of the local Unification Church, regularly organizing gatherings at believers’ homes that included studying Unification Church books, praying, hymn singing, and listening to sermons.
Both Chang Pi-hsien and Lu Chia-chen are Taiwanese nationals. Xiamen police accused the married couple of violating Article 300 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, namely “using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law,” and imposed criminal compulsory measures against them.
On January 12, 2025, Lu Chia-chen was taken away by police for investigation during a religious gathering. Several other participants were also taken in for questioning that day. The following day, local public security authorities issued detention notices, and multiple mainland Chinese individuals were detained. Prior to this, the religious gatherings in question had not received any explicit notice of prohibition from local authorities.
On December 1, 2025, the Siming District People’s Court of Xiamen issued a judgment in the case, sentencing Lu Chia-chen to one year and six months in prison, with the term running until July 12, 2026.
In recent years, Chinese authorities have repeatedly taken enforcement actions against members of certain Christian, Buddhist, and other religious groups on the grounds of “using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law,” drawing attention from observers to the shrinking space for religious freedom.
The full name of the Unification Church is the “Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.” Because its doctrines differ markedly from traditional Christian theology, most Christian denominations do not recognize it as part of Christianity. The organization previously operated out of the public’s eye in multiple Chinese cities but was listed by the Chinese government as an officially designated “cult” in 1997.
Other reports stated that in October last year, three Taiwanese nationals aged between 70 and 80 who were members of the I-Kuan Tao (一贯道) were in mainland China when contact with them were lost. It was later confirmed that they have been detained by Guangdong public security authorities on suspicion of “organizing and using secret societies to undermine law enforcement.”
