New wave of arrests hits christians in China

China

#China

In early January 2026, Chinese authorities carried out a new crackdown against Christians, detaining leaders and members of the Early Rain Covenant Church, one of the country’s best-known house-based Christian communities (unregistered with the government)

It all began on January 6, when police arrested several people linked to the church.

On January 12, organizations monitoring the situation, such as ChinaAid, confirmed that at least six Christians had been detained or placed under house arrest.

However, the exact location of only two of them is known: Pastor Dai Zhichao, who is in the Deyang City Detention Center, and a member known only as “Lin,” detained in the Zhongjiang Detention Center.

The other four-elder Li Yingqiang, his wife Zhang Xinyue, Ye Fenghua, and Jia Xuewei-remain missing, generating great concern among family members and the community.

Before being taken away, Li Yingqiang and his wife recorded a moving video for their children, preparing them for the possibility of a long separation.

In it, they say: “If one day you no longer see Mommy and Daddy, remember the hymn we sang together today.” And then they sing together the song: “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people.” The scene demonstrates the profound faith that moves these people even in the face of constant threat.

The Early Rain Covenant Church has suffered persecution for many years precisely because it refuses to register with the Chinese government.

In the country, only official churches, called “Three-Self Patriotic Churches,” are allowed to hold services; these must follow the rules of the Chinese Communist Party and include the so-called “fundamental socialist values” in their services and messages.

This requirement is part of President Xi Jinping’s policy of “Sinicizing” religions, that is, adapting them completely to the communist vision and state control.

A 2018 law requires religions to adapt to socialist society, which many Christians consider unacceptable interference in their faith.

Therefore, several churches, such as Early Rain, prefer to remain independent communities, even aware of the risks.

The most notorious case occurred in 2018 when the then senior pastor, Wang Yi, refused to register the church.

He wrote an open letter stating that the Bible does not give any government the right to control the Church or interfere in the faith of Christians.

Shortly afterward, he was arrested and, in 2019, sentenced to nine years in prison on charges such as “incitement to subversion of state power” and “illegal business operations.” He remains imprisoned to this day.

Human rights experts are following these episodes with concern.

Yalkun Uluyol, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, openly criticized the government’s actions, stating that the year 2026 began with new arrests of members of underground Protestant churches and that the authorities should immediately release those detained, allowing them to practice their religion freely.

Unfortunately, the situation of the Early Rain Covenant Church and other similar communities demonstrates that pressure on Christians who do not accept state control continues to increase in China, amidst an ongoing government effort to limit and shape religious practice in the country.

Published in 01/17/2026 10h03

Portuguese version

Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.

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