On Saturday, October 11th, the Zion Church in Beijing issued a public statement declaring that since Thursday, the Chinese Communist government has been carrying out large-scale arrests of pastors, preachers, and members of the church in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, and several other locations simultaneously.
As of now, over thirty pastors, leaders, and followers of the church have been detained or gone missing, gathering places have been sealed, properties confiscated, and some family members of the staff also facing threats and harassment.
It is reported that this is the largest and most severe crackdown on Christians by the Chinese government since the “12.9 Autumn Rain Church” incident in Chengdu in 2018.
Established in 2007, the Zion Church is not part of the official Three-Self Patriotic Movement sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party.
According to the church’s public statement on Saturday, all the detained pastors and believers from the Zion Church are innocent Christians. Their only “crime” is worshiping God in peace, faithfully preaching the truth of the Bible, shepherding the flock, and caring for neighbors.
The church pointed out that the Chinese government’s massive crackdown blatantly violates Article 36 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China regarding the explicit protection of religious freedom and goes against the principles of religious freedom established in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The statement stated that this systematic persecution is also a blatant provocation to the international community. These fundamental acts of faith should be protected by the constitution and international human rights treaties in any rule-of-law society.
The Zion Church called for the Chinese government to immediately halt the arrests, threats, and harassment of the Zion Church and other home churches; unconditionally release all pastors and believers who have been detained or are missing; respect and safeguard the right of Chinese citizens to practice religious beliefs in accordance with the law; and urged the international community, governments, and religious freedom organizations to pay attention to this matter and voice condemnation and accountability to the Chinese government.
The statement concluded with, “We believe: faith is not a crime.”
According to a joint statement from the family members of the Beijing Zion Church’s case on October 9th, published by the Aid to the Church in Need news network, it was confirmed that those arrested included Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Yingjia, Pastor Wang Lin, Pastor Wang Cong, Pastor Liu Zhenbin, Pastor Sun Cong, Pastor Lin Shucheng, and Sister Li Shengjuan.
The family members expressed strong protests against the persecution of Christian faith communities by relevant authorities. As of now, as family members, they have not received a clear notification of the charges. Their families have also been distressed and plunged into difficulties because of their faith.
Aid to the Church in Need news network mentioned that several international observers pointed out that the current crackdown by the Chinese authorities showed a high level of coordination, indicating a possible unified deployment from the central level. The Chinese government has not responded to this round of arrests as of now.
Chengdu’s Autumn Rain Covenant Church, which saw a significant number of pastors and believers arrested by the Chinese government in 2018, also expressed support for the Beijing Zion Church on Saturday in their statement. They pointed out that the chaos in today’s Chinese (Communist) politics, the lack of rule of law, and the moral decline stem from the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s hostility towards the existence of God.