Alert: Chinese authorities seek to levy national security charges, escalating crackdown
Comments Off on Alert: Chinese authorities seek to levy national security charges, escalating crackdown
Police target Sichuan, Zhejiang Christian house church congregations
(Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, January 9, 2026) On January 6, Sichuan police detained at least ten people associated with the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu from their homes or the church premises in a coordinated raid. Six remain in custody and have been criminally detained, according to a well-informed CHRD source.
Our source indicated that authorities are holding them on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power” at Deyang City Detention Center. The group includes church leader Li Yingqiang, his wife Zhang Xinyue, deputy deacon Jia Xuewei, preacher Dai Zhichao, and Ye Fenghua and an unnamed member. CHRD is seeking additional corroboration regarding these developments.
Four other church members seized in the January 6 raid were released after hours of questioning. Li and Zhang’s two children spent the night at the police station after the police took both parents into custody. Police from Deyang City and Chengdu’s Jinniu District in Sichuan Province also searched church members’ homes during the raid.
In a separate incident on January 5, police officers in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province surrounded Yayang Church with large cranes and bulldozers. Church members suspected that authorities planned to remove the church’s cross. Since early December 2025, there have been videos showing detentions of Christians from multiple congregations in Yayang township in Wenzhou, though CHRD cannot independently verify the precise number of people detained.
On January 8, prominent activist and Early Rain Church member Chen Yunfei was attacked and beaten badly by an unknown assailant outside his Chengdu home. Chen’s attacker warned him to stop posting on X.
Chinese authorities have arrested and prosecuted several house church congregations over the past two years, typically using charges such as “illegal business activity” and “organizing or using a cult to undermine the implementation of the laws.” The levying of the national security crime of “inciting subversion” marks an escalation in the government’s crackdown on Christians, as it is frequently used in cases against human rights defenders and political prisoners and carries a heavy prison sentence. Early Rain Covenant Church’s founder and former pastor Wang Yi is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence on charges of “inciting subversion” and “illegal business activity.” United Nations human rights experts have called on the Chinese government to amend the offense as it is incompatible with international human rights law.
The detention and prosecution of these Christian house church leaders, members, and supporters violate the Chinese government’s obligation to protect religious freedom as set out under international human rights law. China has signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and is expected to follow customary international law. Chinese domestic legislation attempts to restrict worship to observance within state-approved churches, exposing religious practice outside these parameters to state punishment.
In recent years, the Chinese government has enacted a series of laws that restrict religious freedom through efforts to “Sinicize” religions, and stepped up persecution of religious groups, including Catholics, Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and Falun Gong practitioners. In September 2025, authorities introduced a new regulation, the “Online Code of Conduct for Religious Professionals,” which bans the circulation of so-called unauthorized religious content online.
Chinese authorities should immediately and unconditionally dismiss all charges against the members of the Early Rain Covenant Church and free all individuals held for exercising their right to freedom of belief. The government should also expeditiously reform laws and regulations that limit freedom of worship to align them with international laws and standards.
For more information, please contact:
Sophie Richardson, Co-Executive Director, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, sophierichardson[at]nchrd.org, +1 917 721 7473
Angeli Datt, Research and Advocacy Coordinator, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, angelidatt[at]nchrd.org, +1 934 444 6155
Shane Yi, Researcher, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, shaneyi[at]nchrd.org