(Beihai, Guangxi — October 11, 2025) — The Chinese government’s suppression of religious freedom has entered a new, systematized phase. This week, coordinated arrest operations erupted simultaneously across several cities in China, targeting the Zion Church network, with police arresting nearly thirty pastors and ministry workers under non-religious charges. All individuals taken away have reportedly been transferred to Beihai, Guangxi, for unified detention. This marks one of the largest and most concentrated operations on house churches in recent years.

Large-scale Arrests Have Been Launched; Pastors Were Transferred to Border Cities

In the early morning of October 10, police and plainclothes officers raided the residence of Beijing Zion Church’s senior pastor, Jin Mingri, and conducted a thorough search of his study. According to informed sources, police interrogations have focused on three pastors, Jin Mingri, Wang Lin, and Yin Huibin, as authorities seek evidence within their daily church affairs and operations that could build a case. The alleged crimes include “illegal utilization of information networks,” “illegal business operations,” and “fraud.”

Although all those arrested individuals were participants in affairs of house churches, the Chinese government has consistently avoided using charges such as “illegal religious activities.”

Analysts note that these “technical charges” are increasingly being employed as legal instruments to conceal the religious nature of persecution, helping the government to evade criticism from the international community over violations of religious freedom.

As of 6 a.m. on October 12, confirmed detained individuals include Jin Mingri, Gao Yingjia, Wang Lin, Wang Cong, Liu Zhenbin, Sun Cong, Lin Shucheng, Li Shengjuan, Hu Yanzi, Ming Li, Yin Huibin, Misha, Zhange, and Liu Jiang—14 in total, with additional identities of others pending confirmation.

Multiple sources have confirmed that all individuals arrested have been transferred to the Beihai City Detention Center in Guangxi. Pastor Jin Mingri is being held in solitary confinement in a separate detention center, while the remaining pastors are confined in adjacent cells separated by glass partitions under strict surveillance. This kind of collective relocation to a politically peripheral city is widely interpreted as an attempt by authorities to “reduce the degree of political sensitivity” and “stay out of the international spotlight” during the proceedings.

Some Church Members Released as Legitimacy of Law Enforcement Actions Faces Scrutiny

During this round of crackdown, several members of Zion Church were briefly detained and later released. Those freed include Zhang Yanan in Shenzhen (who is currently breastfeeding), along with Zhang Paul, Anmei, Shengjie, and Wang Fan in Beihai, as well as Dr. Chen Xiaobin, who was taken away while observing the situation near the church. In Fuzhou, preacher Wang Rong has also been confirmed released.

The detention of Zhang Yanan has raised particular attention; she was forcibly taken despite being in her breastfeeding period. In Zhejiang, a woman named Zhange is still undergoing therapy for emotional distress, while her sister is receiving emergency treatment for a vascular condition and is in urgent need of her care. These arrests have prompted the outside world to question the proportionality and the bottom line of the humanitarianism of law enforcement actions.

Most of those released were local members from Beihai. Reports suggest police failed to obtain any evidence sufficient to support formal charges from the interrogations of these church members.

A preacher of Zion Church from Shanghai, who is part of Pastor Wang Lin’s team, was followed while out on the evening of October 11 and was briefly unreachable for several hours before later confirming safety. Such monitoring and tailing have become routine aspects of daily life for Zion Church members across regions.

Authorities’ Strategy of Using “Non-Religious” Framing of Charges is Increasingly Prominent

Founded in 2007, Zion Church is a Reformed-background, unregistered urban house-church network with influence spanning more than forty cities across China. Its Sunday gatherings draw over 5,000 participants nationwide. Thus, the church’s rapid expansion outside the system has led the Chinese government to label it an “uncontrollable” religious organization, with cross-regional church connections viewed as particularly taboo.

In 2019, Zion Church’s main congregation in Beijing was raided and forcibly shut down. Its senior pastor, Jin Mingri, was placed under exit control, preventing him from leaving and reuniting with his family. Since early 2025, the church’s branches in multiple cities have come under investigation one after another, and members have been summoned for questioning, indicating that the current crackdown is not an isolated incident but a continuation of a broader, long-term campaign of surveillance and systematic clean-up.

In this “10·9 Case,” authorities have deliberately avoided charges directly referencing religion. Instead, they have invoked provisions such as “illegal use of information networks” and “illegal business operations” to “de-religionize’ the church-organized activities. This strategy aims to bureaucratize and legitimize the suppression of house churches while evading international supervision over China’s worsening religious freedom situation.

Zion Church Issues Statement Calling for International Support

Amid an escalating nationwide crackdown, Beijing’s Zion Church has issued public statements for three consecutive days since October 9, urging the Chinese government to immediately halt arrests, threats, and harassment targeting its congregation and other house churches across the country. Moreover, the church asked for the unconditional release of all pastors and members who are detained or have lost communication and called for the protection of citizens’ fundamental right to freedom of religion granted according to the law.

The statement also appealed to the international community, calling on foreign governments, religious freedom bodies, and human rights organizations to closely monitor the situation and to deliver a clear moral condemnation and diplomatic accountability of the Chinese authorities.

“Faith Is Not a Crime”: Examining the Clash Between Power and Religious Freedom

While China’s constitution explicitly guarantees freedom of religion, in reality, unregistered house churches continue to operate in a legal gray zone, facing the administrative paradox of being “lawful in existence but unlawful in assembly.” The sweeping crackdown against Zion Church is seen not merely as a local enforcement incident, but as another attempt at a broader tightening of religious space under the guise of political security.

Much like how independent non-governmental organizations have been systematically restricted, cross-regional and well-organized house churches have increasingly become new targets of

“stability maintenance.” Following continuous heightening of surveillance, centralized transfers, and unified judicial handling, the Zion Church case is widely viewed as a quintessential symbol of China’s deteriorating religious freedom environment.

In the coming weeks, the developments of the case are expected to draw continued international attention. Lawyers representing several detained pastors, including Beijing’s Pastor Gao Yingjia, are planning to travel to Beihai in an attempt to pursue legal assistance for their defendants. Whether the Chinese government will address mounting legitimate domestic and international scrutiny remains uncertain.

Reporting for this story includes contributions from Gao Zhensai for ChinaAid and a Canadian pastor.