Chinese authorities have detained church leaders, worshippers and several children after raiding a Sunday service at one of the country's best-known house churches.
According to Christian human rights organisation ChinaAid, around 50 to 60 police officers and government officials disrupted a worship gathering of Early Rain Covenant Church on Sunday morning in Jiangyou City, Sichuan Province.The congregation had been meeting in a hotel conference room when authorities entered at around 11am local time.
Witnesses said officials collected identification details from those attending, before transporting believers by bus and police vehicles to local police stations for questioning. Among those reportedly taken into custody were church elders Yan Hong and Wu Wuqing, along with church members Liu Yingxu, Nie Bo, Li Benli and Ah-Xin.
ChinaAid said numerous other Christians were detained, including several young children who had been attending the service with their families. The whereabouts and legal status of many of those arrested remain unclear.
In footage seen by the BBC, congregants locked into the meeting room continued to worship and praise, even after a police official took to the stage and ordered them to stop.
The raid is the latest development in a years-long campaign against Early Rain Covenant Church, one of China's most prominent independent Protestant congregations.
Its founding pastor, Wang Yi, was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2019 on charges of "inciting subversion of state power" and "illegal business operations" after publicly criticising restrictions on religious freedom and refusing to join state-controlled religious bodies. Despite ongoing surveillance, evictions and repeated detentions, members of the church have continued to meet for worship.
Dr Bob Fu, founder and president of ChinaAid, condemned the latest operation. “This raid is another stark reminder that the Chinese Communist Party continues to treat peaceful Christian worship as a threat to state control,” he said.
He called on Chinese authorities to release those detained immediately and urged the international community to speak out.
“The detention of church leaders, ordinary believers, and even children for participating in a Sunday worship service is a grave violation of religious freedom and fundamental human rights,” Fu added. “We call on the international community, democratic governments, and all people of conscience to speak out and demand the immediate release of those detained.”
