China’s crackdown on Christianity continues as multiple branches and locations of the Zion Church have been raided.
In late May and early June, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials harassed several churches, detaining pastors and questioning church attendees, further demonstrating their agenda to suppress religious freedom.
Beijing Zion Church, once Beijing’s largest house church with 1,500 members, was banned by authorities in 2018, forcing the church to spread to other locations, where it has been repeatedly raided and dispersed. Despite the government’s efforts to eradicate the church, the congregation remains steadfast, meeting in secret and changing locations to evade the CCP, which has not deterred their determination.
Authorities raided the Zion Church in Hefei, Anhui Province, along with several church members’ homes, on May 30. When Pastor Gao Le, who was away at the time, heard about his fellow believers being rounded up, he returned as soon as he could. Authorities detained him for five days.
On June 1, during a worship service at the Guiyang church, police raided the building and detained Yao Yong and Mao Yue for 15 days on unspecified charges.
Multiple Zion Church congregations were affected, with three churches in Chongqing shut down. The congregations in Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Guiyang endured police questioning, while those near Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, were required to present their IDs.
“What’s happening isn’t because the government has something against the Zion Church,” a pastoral member of the church said. “It’s because of what the government has against all of the Christian churches in the county.”
