On December 28, 2025, around 70 Dutch Chinese Christians and human rights activists held a peaceful rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands to show support for the severely persecuted Yayang Church in Taishun County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province. Participants raised banners calling for the immediate stop of the Chinese Communist Party’s suppression of Christians, the withdrawal of the arrest warrants for church leaders Lin Enzhao and Lin Enci, and the release of all detained believers. The systematic crackdown on house churches by the CCP has been ongoing for over a decade, drawing wide international attention.
Yayang Church is a Christian house church network in Yayang Town, Taishun County, which has long resisted the authorities’ attempts to forcibly raise the national flag, install surveillance, and join the official Three-Self Patriotic Church system, making it a target for repression.
It is understood that as early as the start of the “Three Rectifications and One Demolition” campaign in Zhejiang Province in 2013, churches in the Yayang area faced cross removals and restrictions on gatherings. In 2017, authorities forcibly entered the Banling Church in Yayang to install surveillance, resulting in injuries to multiple believers. In June 2025, Yayang Town Mayor Li Bin led over a hundred people to demolish the church walls and gates, and raised the national flag inside the church.
The most severe repression occurred from December 13 to 18, 2025. The CCP dispatched thousands of police, special forces, and firefighters from cities like Hangzhou and Pingyang to raid at least 12 meeting points in Yayang Town, taking away hundreds of Christians for interrogation, arresting many leaders, issuing arrest warrants for Lin Enzhao and Lin Enci on charges including “provoking trouble.” After the operation, the local government even set off fireworks to “celebrate.”
The rally started at 1:30 pm and lasted until 3:30 pm in front of the Chinese Embassy in The Hague. Despite the clear but cold weather with temperatures around 2°C to 4°C, participants held banners in both Chinese and English, with slogans like “Faith is not a crime! Immediately release the believers of Wenzhou Yayang Church!” and “Over 1,000 Police Raided Yayang House Church.”
A 6-meter-long black banner was displayed on-site, with a photo of the Yayang Church on the left side and condemning the CCP’s dispatch of over a thousand police to raid the church on the right side in both Chinese and English, urging the international community to condemn the religious persecution by the CCP.
The organizer, Voice of Anti-CCP, stated during the opening speech: “The CCP has always trampled on the basic human rights of the Chinese people, systematically suppressing various religious groups. In recent years, many house churches have been brutally suppressed, such as the Zion Church and the Autumn Rain Covenant Church. Recently, the CCP’s black hand has reached out to the house churches in the Yayang area of Wenzhou, Zhejiang.”
Before the event, Christian Xia Ying led all participants in praying for the Yayang Church: “On December 15, 2025, over a thousand police raided the church, interrupting worship, taking away believers, and over a dozen churches in Yayang Town were subjected to large-scale repression and siege. These actions seriously violate religious freedom and basic human rights.”
Subsequently, several Christians took turns to speak, sharing personal experiences and condemning the persecution by the CCP.
Christian Jiang Li said that from December 13 to 18, 2025, authorities in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, dispatched over a thousand police and riot police to conduct a large-scale arrest of unarmed Christians. “They were arrested not for breaking the law, but quite the contrary, they are all a group of kind-hearted Christians who were simply gathering, praying, worshiping, and studying the Bible. However, they were considered hostile forces by the CCP and subjected to large-scale repression and arrests.” She urged the international community “not to believe the lies of the CCP anymore.”
Song Mengyuan shared her experience of persecution: “Looking back at the days when I believed in God in China, I lived in fear every day, and many brothers and sisters who believed in God with me were arrested and imprisoned. I had to constantly move to avoid police pursuit, and I was forced to leave my family, my home, and everything familiar to me, fleeing to a foreign country.” She emphasized that the Yayang incident is a microcosm of the systematic repression by the CCP.
Cai Yutong recounted the tragedy of her family being separated: “To arrest Christians, the CCP even resorts to using money to entice people to report those who believe in God. I was once reported for spreading the gospel, almost caught, and forced to flee overseas to avoid police arrest; even though I am abroad, the CCP continues to harass my parents and threaten my family. Later, my wife was also arrested and detained by the police for participating in religious gatherings, and ultimately forced her to sign a statement renouncing her faith.” She called on international human rights organizations to conduct an independent investigation.
Zhang Zhenxing appealed: “If we don’t speak out for the Yayang Church today, more churches will be forced into silence tomorrow. I am a Christian and a Chinese forced into exile overseas. In my own country, I cannot worship God freely, cannot safely hold onto my faith.”
Anti-Communist activists and dissidents also spoke on the scene. Guangxi Christian Wei Zhijian declared: “In these dark days, the evil regime of the CCP dispatched over a thousand fully armed police who stormed in like wild beasts… this is not law enforcement, this is a violent rampage, this is a crime!” He called for global unity to condemn the CCP.
Heilongjiang dissident Wu Xianfen pointed out: “The repression by the CCP government is undemocratic. The Chinese people should have the basic right to freedom of belief, and the Chinese (CCP) government should not force individuals to violate their beliefs or manage faith through coercion.” Her son, Jiang Hong, added: “In a diverse society, religious freedom is not only a basic right but also a touchstone of social conscience.”
Gansu Christian Hao Wangyong condemned the CCP: “We must be clear: praying is not a crime, loving God is not rebellion. Christians are peaceful citizens; they seek spiritual elevation and love for their neighbors, not worldly power.” He called for the release of all illegally detained Christians and boldly stated, “The Communist Party is born of injustice and will surely die of shame, leaving a stench for ten thousand years!”
Henan dissidents Xing Songlin and Du Binghui emphasized the CCP’s violent sealing and trampling of the constitution, calling for international pressure. Christian dissident Liu Xiaobin read out a “Letter to All CCP Members and Cadres,” referring to the CCP as the “world’s largest cult” and warning them of punishment from God.
Hubei Jehovah’s Witnesses Liu Bowen analyzed: “This repression is not accidental. It stems from a ruling logic that refuses to accept diverse thinking.”
After the speeches, Xing Songlin led the entire audience in chanting slogans: “Stop persecution! Respect human rights! Faith is innocent! Worship is innocent! Spreading the gospel is innocent! Serving God is innocent! Release the detained Christians!” Following that, all Christians sang the hymn “Amazing Grace” together.
At the end of the rally, Xing Songlin read out a public statement on behalf of the organizers, calling for evidence of human rights violations by Taishun County Public Security Bureau Director He Lei and Yayang Town Mayor Li Bin and offering rewards of 1000 to 5000 yuan.
The statement pointed out that in the early hours of June 24, 2025, Yayang Town Mayor Li Bin led over a hundred people to forcibly enter Yayang Church without showing any legal judicial authorization, demolish the walls and gates, and forcefully raise the national flag within the church premises. At the same time, Taishun County Public Security Bureau Director He Lei was accused of abusing police power by issuing and executing illegal notices against Yayang church leaders and believers, providing police support for the persecution.
The statement emphasized that these actions seriously violate Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the basic protections of religious freedom in the Chinese Constitution, meeting the standards of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act for serious human rights violations.
Subsequently, volunteer Jiang Peikun burned the photos of the two individuals, and the entire audience shouted, “Down with the Communist Party, the Communist Party must step down.”
The entire rally proceeded peacefully, with participants emphasizing that the event complied with Dutch laws and regulations, expressing their voices with dignity and rationality.
The persecution of the Yayang Church is not a new occurrence. Epoch Times reported on April 24, 2017, that over a hundred people from the Yayang Town government in Taishun County, Zhejiang Province forcibly entered the Banling Church, installing surveillance cameras, with physical conflicts resulting in injuries to many believers, including two people who were pushed down from a height and sent to the hospital. Radio Free Asia also reported that hundreds of people were dispatched by authorities, and many believers were injured in the resistance.
International human rights organizations such as the Chinese Aid Association have condemned this incident and called for an independent investigation. Participants at the Dutch rally stated that the CCP’s religious persecution has been ongoing for over a decade, from cross demolitions to large-scale arrests, exposing its fear of faith. Freedom of belief is a universal value, and silence will only enable atrocities.
(Reporting by Voice of Anti-CCP, translation by [Your Name])