30 Christians arrested in China

International

HUMAN rights groups and church networks have expressed concerns over the arrest of 30 Christians across several Chinese cities last week.

Among those detained was Pastor Jin Mingri, founder of the influential Zion Church, one of China’s largest unregistered Christian congregations.

In a report by BBC News, Pastor Jin’s daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, said her family realized something was wrong after receiving a message from her father asking for prayers for a detained pastor — only to lose contact with him hours later.

“My mum called me crying,” she said. “She couldn’t reach my dad, and that’s when we knew he was also taken.”

Activists described the arrests — which took place across at least ten cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Beihai — as the most extensive roundup of Christians in decades. They said the move was likely part of a coordinated campaign to suppress house churches, which operate independently from state-sanctioned religious organizations.

The BBC obtained a copy of a detention notice issued by the Beihai public security bureau, confirming that Pastor Jin is being held at Beihai Number Two Prison under suspicion of the “illegal use of information networks.”

Chinese authorities have yet to confirm the arrest publicly.

According to Christian advocacy group Luke Alliance, the nationwide arrests mark “an unprecedented show of force.”

“We anticipate that this is just the beginning of a larger crackdown. Other churches are now preparing for arrests.” Founder Corey Jackson told BBC.

A spokesperson for Open Doors, another Christian advocacy organization, noted that Zion Church’s growing influence may have alarmed authorities.

“Zion was very well known and outspoken,” the spokesperson said. “The government has always been wary of organized social entities it does not control.”

Zion Church pastor Sean Long, who is now based in the United States, called the arrests “a systematic roundup to unroot Zion.” He added, “It’s like killing the chicken to scare the monkeys — they want to make an example out of us to frighten other churches.”

The crackdown follows a series of new religious regulations in China. In September, authorities introduced an online code of conduct requiring only licensed religious groups to hold virtual services — a move widely viewed as targeting underground congregations. (Xienderlyn Trinidad, USJ-R Comm Intern)