Chinese Government Crackdown on Christian Churches (2000–2025)
China’s ruling Communist Party has long insisted that all religious groups must register with and submit to state-controlled bodies (the Three-Self Patriotic Movement for Protestants, and the Catholic Patriotic Association for Catholics). In practice, tens of millions of Christians worship in unregistered “house” or underground churches. Under President Xi Jinping the state has repeatedly intensified pressure on these independent churches. New laws and rules (e.g. the 2018 revised Regulation on Religious Affairs) were used to justify removing crosses, closing churches, and arresting leaders who refuse to comply. (For example, pastor Wang Yi of Chengdu’s Early Rain Covenant Church was detained in December 2018 and later sentenced to 9 years in prison on charges of “inciting subversion” and “illegal business operation,” after he refused to register his large house church reuters.comamnesty.org.) Such cases showed that even peacefully preaching outside state channels was deemed a “challenge to Party authority” reuters.com.
Wave of 2018–2019: In late 2018 China mounted its most serious sweep of underground churches in decades. Police closed Beijing’s Zion Church (pastored by Jin Mingri) and raided Chengdu’s Early Rain Church. Dozens of leaders and members of these and other house churches were detained. Wang Yi (Early Rain) was later charged with illegal “business” and subversion and jailed reuters.com. Officials openly cited the need for Party oversight: an early-2019 court said Wang’s unregistered church was “a criminal organisation” outside the law christianpost.com. Catholic clergy also felt the pressure: underground bishops (e.g. Peter Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou) was harassed for refusing to join the state church ncregister.com.
Sinicization and online rules (2020–2022): Since 2020 authorities enacted new controls on worship. President Xi’s policy of “Sinicization of religion” – demanding that religious practice conform to socialist values – was invoked repeatedly. New regulations banned foreign missionaries outright, and from 2022 the government banned all unsanctioned online worship opendoorsuk.orgreuters.com. Church attendees have faced constant surveillance: some Protestant churches are forced to display propaganda slogans (“Love the Communist Party, love the country, love religion” opendoorsuk.org) and screen sermons. Tightened laws, such as the online “Code of Conduct” (Sept 2025) forbidding unauthorized internet preaching or “foreign collusion,” have given cover for arrests reuters.comuscirf.gov. As ChinaAid and others report, between 2020–2023 many house church gatherings were labeled “illegal business operations,” “fraud” or even “cult” activity to justify prosecution.
Escalation in 2023–2025: Human-rights groups note a sharp rise in detentions of Christian leaders since 2023. By late 2024 the Chinese government had imposed bans on minors in churches and fined congregations. A March 2025 Anglican Ink report estimated 50+ pastors or leaders arrested in 2023 alone (over 15 sentenced to 5+ years) anglican.ink. The intensification continued in 2025: by mid-year church-watchers cited new rules aggressively enforcing registration and requiring Christian sites to promote Party “core values” opendoorsuk.orgreuters.com. USCIRF and others warned that China’s crackdown has been “nationwide” and “coordinated,” targeting prominent independent churches uscirf.goven.adhrrf.org.
Recent Cases of Arrested Pastors and Leaders (2023–2025)
Authorities have detained dozens of Christian pastors and church workers in this period. Below are key documented cases; sources are cited after each entry.
Pastor Mingri “Ezra” Jin (Zion Church, Beijing) – Oct 2025, Beihai (Guangxi): Founder and leader of the large unregistered Zion House Church, Jin Mingri was detained Oct 10, 2025 at his home in Beihai City reuters.com. He was officially held on suspicion of “illegal use of information networks,” a charge carrying up to 7 year s reuters.com. (Supporters say this refers to online dissemination of sermons and religious writings.) The raid on Zion Church led to the detention or disappearance of nearly 30 pastors and co-workers across multiple provinces lukealliance.orgreuters.com. Church spokesman Sean Long says lawyers have been barred and families cut off from them reuters.com. Grace Jin (Jin’s daughter, a U.S. citizen) told Reuters and NPR that she and others in the church view the arrests as part of a new wave of “religious persecution”, threatening her father’s health (he has diabetes) reuters.comnhpr.org. The U.S. government publicly condemned this round of detentions, with USCIRF calling it a “horrendous violation” of religious freedom uscirf.gov.
Pastor Sun Cong, Gao Yingjia, Yin Huibin, Yang Lijun, etc. (Zion Church pastors) – Oct 2025: Alongside Jin Mingri, at least five other Zion co-pastors were formally charged. Families in Beihai received criminal detention notices on Oct 13 confirming that Pastor Gao Yingjia, Pastor Yin Huibin, Sister Yang Lijun, Pastor Wang Cong (and others) face prosecution for “illegally using Internet information” opendoorsuk.org. These charges stem from the same new rules banning unapproved online preaching. (Yang Lijun is the wife of Pastor Yin Huibin.) Pastor Sun Cong (pictured above in handcuffs in an AP photo) was also detained in Beijing during the October sweep nhpr.org. As of mid-Oct 2025 about 20 Zion-affiliated leaders remained in custody; several others were released on bail opendoorsuk.orgbarnabasaid.org. Families report no formal indictments yet, and legal visits have been denied reuters.combarnabasaid.org.
Pastor An Yankui (Xuncheng Reformed Church, Taiyuan) – Oct 2025, Taiyuan (Shanxi): On Oct 12, 2025, police raided the Taiyuan house church of Xuncheng Reformed Church during Sunday worship. Minister An Yankui was giving a sermon when about 30 plainclothes officers stormed in. An was forcibly detained on the spot opendoorsuk.org. Eleven church staff and congregants (including Zhao Weikai, Zhang Chenghao and Wang Yingjie) were also taken away en.adhrrf.org. Authorities later announced these eleven individuals would serve 15 days of administrative detention (a “re-education” sentence) opendoorsuk.orgen.adhrrf.org. According to Open Doors, the raid followed years of pressure on Xuncheng Church for refusing to join the state-sanctioned Three-Self Church opendoorsuk.org. The pastor and workers were accused of “undermining implementation of justice” by their very gathering, and no formal criminal trial was reported. After 15 days they were released (Oct 28, 2025) but face ongoing harassment.
Pastor Gao Quanfu (Zion Light Church, Xi’an) – May 2025, Xi’an (Shaanxi): In May 2025 police arrested Pastor Gao Quanfu of the “Zion Light” church in Xi’an. Gao’s church is part of the wider Zion network. He was charged with “using superstitious activities to undermine the implementation of justice,” an obscure accusation reflecting Beijing’s campaign against anything labeled “xie jiao” (evil cult). Human rights monitors say the charge is pretextual; Gao’s real “crime” was holding unregistered services and publishing religious materials online christianitytoday.combarnabasaid.org. He was reportedly held for several days and then released on bail. (No lengthy sentence has been publicly announced.)
Pastor Yang Rongli (Golden Lampstand Church, Linfen) – June 2025, Linfen (Shanxi): Pastor Yang Rongli and her congregation in Linfen have long faced persecution. In June 2025 Yang was convicted of “fraud” in a secret trial and given 15 years’ imprisonment christianitytoday.combarnabasaid.org. Chinese authorities alleged that Golden Lampstand Church’s tithes and donations were an illegal fundraising scheme. Rights groups emphatically dispute this, noting the church was simply collecting voluntary offerings. Yang’s lengthy sentence was part of a broader crackdown in Linfen: ten other Golden Lampstand leaders received 9+ year terms in April 2024 on similar charges christianpost.combarnabasaid.org. Witnesses report that police confiscated church bank accounts and banned members’ gatherings.
Pastor Li Jie (Linfen Covenant Home Church, Linfen) – June 2025, Linfen (Shanxi): The same court in Shanxi also prosecuted leaders of Linfen’s Covenant Home Church. In June 2025 church founder Pastor Li Jie was sentenced to 3 years 8 months on allegations of “fraud and forming a criminal clique” christianpost.com. Elder Han Xiaodong received 3 years 8 months, and Wang Qiang (another leader) 1 year 11 months, also for fraud christianpost.com. According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, these charges are fabricated: the defendants were simply collecting offerings to support their congregation. Church members told CSW that police had surveilled Li and Han for years, then detained them in 2022 during an off-site retreat christianpost.comchristianpost.com. During trial relatives were barred entry and lawyers were pressured by security personnel. The church publicly vowed to appeal the verdict as unjust.
Catholic Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin (Wenzhou) – Jan 2024, Wenzhou (Zhejiang): While most targets have been Protestant, the crackdown has also hit underground Catholic clergy. On January 2, 2024 Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin – head of the “underground” Wenzhou diocese – was abducted by security forces and taken into unknown detention ncregister.com. Chinese state media have given no explanation, but Catholic sources say Shao’s “crime” was objecting to decisions made by the government’s appointed church leadership. He had sent a letter criticizing the state-backed administrator’s actions without his consent ncregister.com. Bishop Shao, who was appointed by the Vatican, has repeatedly refused to join the Communist Party’s Catholic Patriotic Association; authorities consider him disobedient. (He was previously detained in 2021 and 2023 when he tried to attend funerals of other underground priests ncregister.com.) The Vatican has not publicly commented on the 2024 arrest, but Catholic advocacy groups warn Shao is being punished for upholding ecclesiastical independence ncregister.comncregister.com.
Additional Cases: In addition to the above, numerous other pastors and elders have been detained or questioned. In late 2024 and early 2025 pastors of smaller house churches were harassed, arrested briefly or fined for “illegal preaching.” For example, in October 2024 a Zhejiang home-group pastor was jailed for selling Bibles and religious materials youth.opendoorsuk.org. In May 2025 police in Jiangsu and Anhui briefly detained over 70 believers and pastors in simultaneous raids (exact charges were unclear, often “disturbing order”). Many of these low-level cases do not reach court but contribute to an atmosphere of fear: witnesses report police confiscating phones and ordering congregations to disband whenever they gather.
Government Justifications and Patterns
The Chinese authorities frame these actions as enforcing the law and curbing “illegal” religion. Officially, they say: all religious activity must conform to state law and “Chinese characteristics.” Foreign Ministry spokespersons routinely assert that China “manages religious affairs in accordance with the law” and “protects normal religious activities” nhpr.org. In practice, police often invoke vague charges like illegal business activity, fraud, or “illegal dissemination of information” for any unsanctioned church meeting. The new 2025 rules explicitly ban preaching without Party approval and forbid “foreign collusion” – reflecting a narrative that independent churches are influenced by outside forces reuters.com.
Analysts note clear patterns: targets are almost always house (unregistered) churches, not the state-approved Three-Self churches. Regions with active house-church networks – such as Zhejiang, Henan, Shanxi, Sichuan, Guangxi and Xinjiang – have seen the most raids and arrests. The Christians targeted are typically those refusing to register or install Party-monitoring equipment. The claimed pretexts range from online activity (the Zion Church pastors) to “superstitious cultism” (charges against Gao Quanfu) to financial crimes (fraud charges against Linfen church leaders). Rights groups say these charges are a veneer: the real issue is the churches’ independence.
In numerous statements, U.S. and international bodies have condemned China’s actions as religious persecution. USCIRF noted that under Xi’s “Sinicization” campaign, Beijing has shown “utter contempt for religious freedom” by detaining pastors who “refuse to join Party-controlled religious organizations” uscirf.gov. At least one U.S. State Department official publicly urged China to free the detained pastors, underscoring that these cases are being watched globally. Internally, however, China has given no credible legal justification: Foreign Minister Lin Jian even denied knowledge of the Zion Church arrests when asked, and accused foreign governments of meddling with nhpr.org. In reality, the recent arrests form part of what activists describe as “the largest coordinated wave” of anti-house-church crackdowns in decades reuters.comen.adhrrf.org.
Each of these cases reflects the broader pattern: independent Christian leaders are accused of “illegal” acts simply for practicing faith outside the Party’s control. The official justifications often cite broad legal terms (fraud, illegal business, national security), but observers note that all individuals were engaged in normal religious teaching. The Chinese government characterizes these actions as anti-church measures needed to ensure “religious affairs are managed by law” nhpr.org. In reality, local police and Party officials frequently act on higher-level directives to tighten ideological control (e.g. Xi’s 2019 vow to “implement strict law enforcement” on religion reuters.com).
In summary, since 2023 a surge of church raids and arrests has targeted prominent house churches (Zion Church, Xuncheng Reformed, etc.) and their pastors across China. The arrested leaders were typically not affiliated with the official Three-Self churches, and they often had sizable followings or online ministries. Actions that triggered detentions included continuing to preach without Party approval, organizing banned online services, or refusing to register with the state church. The charges against them reflect new legal tools: for example the Oct 2025 Zion arrests invoked the recent Online Code of Conduct and “illegal information” charge reuters.com. Chinese authorities label these churches as threats to social order or as “xie jiao,” but in each case observers emphasize the peaceful nature of the pastors’ activities.
International watchdogs, human rights lawyers, and the U.S. government have decried these actions as a “new wave” of persecution on par with the mid-2010s crackdown reuters.comuscirf.gov. As of late 2025 many detainees (including Jin Mingri) remain in custody, some awaiting trial, and families report harsh conditions (lawyers and relatives barred, poor medical care) reuters.comreuters.com. China’s government, for its part, has publicly defended these steps as necessary enforcement of law and sovereignty nhpr.orgreuters.com. But the evidence and eyewitness accounts demonstrate that the real aim is to stamp out any church beyond state supervision, especially those with foreign ties or strong online presence.
