Over the past week, branches of Beijing Zion Church in multiple cities have been raided and harassed, with a large number of church members being summoned for questioning.
On 1 June, the Sunday worship service at Meimen Church in Guiyang was disrupted, and everyone present was taken to the police station. Elder Yao Yong and Brother Mao Yue were each given 15 days of administrative detention.
On 30 May, Pastor Gao Le of the church’s location in Hefei, Anhui Province was also administratively detained by local police for five days as a penalty. The homes of the congregation of this location were raided, and books were confiscated. Pastor Gao Le was out of the area when the church was raided; upon learning that fellow believers had been taken away, he insisted on returning to comfort the flock. As soon as he arrived home, he was taken away and criminally detained for five days without any stated reason.
Beijing Zion Church is a widely known house church in China. Founded over thirty years ago, it once had a congregation of up to 1,500 people.
In 2018, Beijing Zion Church was raided in a joint operation by multiple government departments. The church venue was forcibly closed, and the Civil Affairs Bureau of Chaoyang District in Beijing declared the church banned. Following the ban, church workers dispersed to plant churches in other regions.
In recent years, the church has continued to face persecution, with many preachers arrested or administratively detained.
The wave of crackdowns on branches of the Zion Church across multiple regions clearly indicates a coordinated campaign at a higher administrative level. Once again, it highlights the grave challenges facing house churches in China.
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