Rev. Shaji Karackal
New York: There’s a worldwide uproar on Beijing’s Crackdown on Underground Churches reported today. Rumors are spreading that US officials are observing the developments and may intervene in the situation. According to reports, Pastors Jin Mingri, Sun Cong and dozens of others including church members are being detained targeting Zion Church (also known as Beijing Zion Church), one of the country’s most prominent unregistered Protestant networks.. This escalation comes amid heightened U.S.-China tensions and new religious regulations aimed at curbing “foreign collusion” and enforcing the government’s “Sinicization” of religion.
Pastor Jin Mingri, a Peking University graduate who converted to Christianity after the 1989 Tiananmen Square events, was arrested at his home in Beihai, Guangxi province, on Friday evening (October 10). He is the father of U.S. citizens and had returned to China despite prior threats.
Raids involved searches of homes, with reports of handcuffed detentions and confiscated materials. Founded in 2007, the church grew to 1,500 members in Beijing by 2018 before authorities shut down its main building and forced it underground. It now spans 40 cities with 5,000–10,000 weekly attendees via hybrid online and in-person meetings. Its rapid post-COVID expansion and resistance to state surveillance
This follows September’s new rules banning unauthorized online preaching and religious training. Churches report increased raids on services, disruptions of online prayer groups, and pressure on hotels to deny rentals. Underground groups, also called “house churches,” operate without state registration to avoid Communist Party oversight.
China officially recognizes over 44 million Protestants in state-sanctioned churches, but estimates suggest 60–100 million worship in underground networks, drawn to their independence from party doctrine. Under the current regime, the government promotes atheism and “Sinicization”—requiring religions to align with socialist values—viewing unregistered groups as threats to social control, especially amid economic woes and U.S. trade frictions like recent rare earth export curbs. Analysts note the timing aligns with Xi’s vow last month for “strict law enforcement” on religion. This echoes the 2018 nationwide sweep that closed Zion and others like Early Rain Covenant Church, where leaders faced fraud charges and imprisonment.
The Trump administration, via Secretary of State Marco Rubio, condemned the detentions as evidence of the CCP’s “hostility toward Christians who reject Party interference.” Rubio demanded immediate releases, while former VP Mike Pence highlighted the arrests on X. Groups like ChinaAid and Persecution.org are tracking the situation.
Outlets like the New York Post frame it as a “damning sign of weakness” rule, suggesting fragile leadership fears independent institutions. Zion leaders, including U.S.-based pastor Sean Long, say the flock remains “steadfast,” meeting secretly despite risks. Jin’s daughter, Grace, told NPR her father anticipated this, prioritizing his congregants.
This crackdown risks pushing more believers deeper underground, potentially fueling resentment rather than compliance, as seen post-2018 when Zion rebounded online. With Christianity’s growth outpacing state controls, experts warn of escalating persecution, including against Catholics and Muslims. No official Chinese response has been issued, but past patterns suggest detentions could last months
