Chinese authorities have formally arrested 18 leaders of the Zion Church, an underground Christian congregation, as part of a broader crackdown on religious groups. These arrests are expected to lead to prosecutions with potential prison terms of up to three years, as reported by Reuters. According to the report, nearly 30 pastors and staff members belonging to the Zion Church were detained by police in mid-October, marking the largest such crackdown on Chinese Christians in seven years. ChinaAid, a Christian nonprofit human rights organization, stated in a statement that the leaders were arrested on politically motivated charges. The statement noted that the pastors and co-workers were treated as criminals simply because they faithfully shepherded a large, legally unregistered church that refused to submit to CCP control and surveillance.
Dr. Bob Fu, the founder and president of the organization, called the arrests a ‘chilling milestone in the CCP’s all-out war on Christianity in China.’ He emphasized that their only ‘crime’ was preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, shepherding God’s flock, and refusing to turn Christ’s church into a propaganda tool of the Communist Party. By turning pastors into political prisoners, the CCP is not only persecuting these individuals and their families but also sending a warning to every independent church in China: submit to Party control or face destruction. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced the detentions of the Zion Church members in October and asked the Chinese government to release them. Open Doors, an international organization that supports persecuted believers, estimates there are more than 96 million Christians in China.