<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/11/underground-church-early-rain-leaders-detained-china-crackdown>
"Leaders of a prominent underground church have been detained in south-west
China, according to a church statement, the latest blow in what appears to be a
sweeping crackdown on unregistered Christian groups in the country.
On Tuesday, Li Yingqiang, the leader of the Early Rain Covenant Church, was
taken by police from his home in Deyang, a small city in Sichuan province,
according to the statement. Li’s wife, Zhang Xinyue, has also been detained,
along with two other church members: Dai Zhichao, a pastor; and Ye Fenghua, a
lay member. At least a further four members were taken and later released,
while some others remain out of contact.
The crackdown followed the arrest of 18 senior members of Zion Church, another
prominent underground church, in a nationwide sweep in October. In December,
there were also reports of approximately 100 members of another unofficial
church in Zhejiang province being detained, according to Human Rights Watch.
Yalkun Uluyol, the China researcher at the rights NGO, said: “The recent
detention of Early Rain members appears to be part of the Chinese government’s
blatant attack on house churches in China. As Beijing tightens its ideological
control, unofficial churches are seen as ‘disobedient’ to the Communist party
ideology and, therefore, pay a heavy price.”
One Early Rain member was summoned on charges of “picking quarrels and
provoking trouble”, a catch-all offence used to target anyone the government
considers to be a troublemaker. It is not clear whether the people who remain
in detention have been formally charged. The public security bureaux in Deyang
and Chengdu, Sichuan’s capital, declined to comment.
In a statement, the church called on members “to hold fast to the faith, to
love one another, and to remain united amid persecution”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
