Chinese security officials have detained several leaders and members of the Early Rain Covenant Church in southwest China, continuing a long-running crackdown on unregistered Christian congregations.
According to the Christian advocacy group ChinaAid, at least six members of the church were detained or placed under house arrest on 6 January. As of 12 January, the locations of only two of those detained had been officially confirmed.
Pastor Dai Zhichao is being held at the Deyang City Detention Centre, while another church member, identified only as Lin, is reportedly detained at the Zhongjiang Detention Centre. The whereabouts of four others, including church elder Li Yingqiang and his wife Zhang Xinyue, along with Ye Fenghua and Jia Xuewei, remain unclear.
Before their detention, Li and his wife recorded a message for their children, anticipating the possibility of arrest. In the video, they encouraged their children to remember a hymn they had sung together, before singing a verse about God’s protection over His people.
The Early Rain Covenant Church, based in Chengdu, has faced sustained pressure from authorities for years because it operates outside the state-controlled religious system. In China, Christians are required to worship only in churches registered with the government, which must follow regulations that align religious teaching with the ideological principles of the Chinese Communist Party.
Religious rules introduced in 2018 require faith groups to adapt their beliefs and practices to socialist values. Many Christians have resisted these measures, arguing that political ideology should not shape church teaching or worship. As a result, some congregations have chosen to remain unregistered, despite the risks.
The church’s former pastor, Wang Yi, was detained in 2018 after refusing to register the congregation. He later published an open letter stating that the government has no authority to control the church or interfere in matters of Christian faith. In 2019, he was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges related to state security and business activities, which supporters say were politically motivated.
Human rights groups have criticised the latest detentions. Yalkun Uluyol of Human Rights Watch said the arrests reflect a continued pattern of repression against independent churches and called on the authorities to release those detained and allow them to practise their faith freely.
Adapted from ICC.
