Chinese authorities on October 10-11, 2025, arrested nearly 30 pastors, preachers, and church members of the unofficial Zion Protestant Church in seven cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang, Human Rights Watch said today. Among those arrested was the pastor and founder of the Zion church (錫安教会), Ezra Jin Mingri, 56, in Beihai city, Guangxi province.
The Chinese government should immediately free the dozens of people detained across China because of their affiliation with Zion and other unofficial Protestant churches. Until their release, the authorities should provide information about the detainees to their families and ensure that they have access to lawyers of their own choosing.
"The Chinese government's arbitrary detention of dozens of people affiliated with Zion church reflects an escalating crackdown on religious freedom," said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch. "President Xi Jinping's government appears intent on reshaping religious practice to serve the Chinese Communist Party's interests, and congregations that fail to do so face harsh persecution."
Jin and seven other pastors are being held in Beihai City No. 2 Detention Center, according to a statement by their family members. At least five of those detained were reportedly released; the whereabouts of the rest have not been revealed.
Zion Church, founded in 2007, has previously faced official harassment. In 2018, authorities shut down the church in Beijing and placed a travel ban on Jin and prevented him from visiting his family in the United States. Despite severe restrictions, the church continued to grow and is now one of the largest unofficial Protestant congregations in China, with thousands attending its services across the country.
The latest crackdown came after the authorities issued an Online Code of Conduct for Religious Professionals in September, banning the circulation of unauthorized religious content online, effectively denying public access to religious teachers and teachings outside of Communist Party control. Jin was arrested for "illegal use of information networks," a crime under China's criminal law (article 287-1) which carries up to three years in prison.
The Chinese government has a long history of severely restricting the right to freedom of religion. The 2005 Regulations on Religious Affairs require all religious groups to be registered and controlled by the authorities. Protestant churches face repeated pressure to become affiliated with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the official umbrella organization for Protestants.
But the control has escalated since 2016, when Xi pledged to "Sinicize" religion, and tightened ideological control. The authorities have demolished hundreds of church buildings or the crosses atop them, prevented adherents from gathering in unofficial churches, restricted access to the Bible, confiscated religious materials not authorized by the government, and banned Bible and religious apps. The Sinicization of religion has also meant severe repression of Tibetan Buddhism and Islam.
Other influential underground Protestant churches harshly persecuted in recent years included Beijing Shouwang Church, which was shut down in 2019, and Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church. Its founding pastor, Wang Yi, was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2019.
Earlier in 2025, courts sentenced over a dozen people affiliated with the Linfen Golden Lampstand Church, an underground Protestant church in Shanxi province, for fraud. The church's cofounder and pastor, Wang Xiaoguang, and his wife, Yang Rongli, were sentenced to 9 and 15 years in prison, respectively.
The Zion Church issued a statement on October 12 calling for "the immediate cessation of all arrests, intimidation, and harassment against Zion Church and other house churches in China" and for "the unconditional release of all detained."
Concerned governments should publicly condemn the Chinese government's assault on religious freedom and pressure the Chinese government to free those affiliated with Zion Church and all other members of underground churches wrongfully detained for exercising their basic rights, Human Rights Watch said.
"The Chinese government's crackdown on religious practice is tied to its efforts to tighten ideological control, both at home and abroad," Uluyol said. "Governments should ensure the Chinese government is held accountable for such violations and press for religious freedom in China."
