China Arrests Many Pastors, Lawyers Not Allowed to Meet Them, Reason Emerges

China Arrests Many Pastors, Lawyers Not Allowed to Meet Them, Reason Emerges

  • Chinese authorities have detained dozens of pastors from Zion Church in the largest crackdown on underground Christians since 2018
  • The arrests, which coincide with rising China-U.S. tensions, have drawn international condemnation and sparked concern over religious freedom
  • Pastor Jin Mingri, the church’s founder, is among those held, facing charges linked to online religious activity under newly tightened regulations

Chinese authorities have detained dozens of pastors affiliated with Zion Church, one of the country’s largest underground Christian networks, in what church representatives and family members described as the most sweeping crackdown on Christians in seven years.

The detentions took place over the weekend and coincided with escalating China-U.S. tensions following Beijing’s expansion of rare earth export controls.

Pastor Jin Mingri faces charges over online preaching as China tightens religious control.
Chinese authorities detained Zion Church pastors in a sweeping crackdown on underground Christianity. Photo credit: Mianlo/GettyImages
Source: Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the arrests on Sunday and called for the pastors’ immediate release.

Read also

Just In: Senate takes notable action on Nigerian women, children trapped in Libyan prisons

Zion church founder Pastor Jin Mingri held in Beihai

Pastor Jin Mingri, also known as Ezra, was detained at his home in Beihai, a southern Chinese city, on Friday evening, according to his daughter Grace Jin and church spokesperson Sean Long.

Jin, 56, is currently being held at Beihai City No. 2 Detention Centre on suspicion of “illegal use of information networks”, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of seven years.

Long, speaking from his home in the United States, said the charge stemmed from allegations that Jin and other pastors used the internet to disseminate religious content.

“What just happened is part of a new wave of religious persecution this year,” Long stated.

Read also

Cameroon election 2025: Opposition candidate declares victory over president Paul Biya

He added that nearly 30 pastors and church members were detained nationwide around the same time, with only five released so far. Approximately 20 remain in custody.

Police in Beihai and China’s Ministry of Public Security did not respond to requests for comment.

Concerns mount over health and legal access

Grace Jin expressed concern over her father’s health, noting his history of diabetes and the lack of access to legal counsel.

“He’s been hospitalised in the past for diabetes. We’re worried since he requires medication,” she said.
“I’ve also been notified that lawyers are not allowed to meet the pastors, so that is very concerning to us.”

Read also

Madagascar's president in hiding after surviving alleged assassination plot, protest continues

The crackdown follows new regulations issued last month by China’s top religious authority, banning unauthorised online preaching and religious training by clergy, as well as prohibiting “foreign collusion”.

President Xi Jinping recently pledged to “implement strict law enforcement” and further the Sinicisation of religion.

Zion church’s growth and government scrutiny

Founded in 2007 by Jin after he left the state-sanctioned Protestant church, Zion Church has grown into a network of roughly 5,000 worshippers across nearly 50 cities.

Long said the church expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic through Zoom sermons and small in-person gatherings.

Jin, a graduate of Peking University, converted to Christianity after witnessing the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Read also

Thousands of Gazans trek back to their ruined city as Israeli troops withdraw

In 2018, authorities shut down Zion Church’s building in Beijing and imposed travel restrictions on Jin, preventing him from visiting his wife and children in the United States.

Earlier this year, police temporarily detained 11 Zion Church pastors, Long said.

Last month, Jin was intercepted by dozens of police officers during a visit to Shanghai and forcibly returned to Beihai, according to Grace Jin and Bob Fu, founder of Christian NGO ChinaAid.

“The key underlying reason is that Zion Church has grown explosively into a well-organised network in recent years, which of course must scare the Communist Party leadership,” Fu remarked.

Read also

Trump’s White House reacts after losing out on Nobel Peace Prize: "Politics over peace"

Official figures indicate that China has over 44 million Christians registered with state-sanctioned churches, predominantly Protestant.

However, tens of millions more are believed to worship in unofficial “house churches” that operate independently of the Communist Party’s oversight.

Legal access denied for detained Christian leaders amid China’s new internet and religion laws.
Legal access denied for detained Christian leaders amid China’s new internet and religion laws. Photo credit: Xi Jinping/X
Source: Getty Images

Pastor arrested for having sex with church member

Legit.ng earlier reported that the General Overseer of Champion the Truth Cathedral, Bishop Ndibueze Okorie Onyagoziri, has been arrested for allegedly having repeated sex with a 22-year-old female church member in Ebonyi state.

Bishop Onyagoziri was said to have had canal knowledge of female church members who were in need.

The victim, who is a sickle cell patient, said she started living in the church with the pastor to heal her from the illness through divine treatment.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Basit Jamiu avatar

Basit Jamiu (Current Affairs and Politics Editor) Basit Jamiu is a journalist with more than five years of experience. He is a current affairs and politics editor at Legit.ng. He holds a bachelor's degree from Ekiti State University (2018). Basit previously worked as a staff writer at Ikeja Bird (2022), Associate Editor at Prime Progress (2022), and Staff Writer at The Movee (2018). He is a 2024 Open Climate Fellow (West Africa), 2023 MTN Media Fellow, OCRP Fellow at ICIR, and Accountability Fellow at CJID. Email: basit.jamiu@corp.legit.ng.

Tags: