Pastor Gao Yingjia was arrested at 2am in a Beijing suburb and is now in a detention centre in Guangxi province, charged with 'illegal use of information networks.' His wife, Geng Pengpeng, who fled overseas with their son, described the anguish of the raid: 'We both knew that as Christians in China, there were risks, but you can never be fully prepared.'
Gao is a senior pastor in Zion Church, one of China's most prominent underground house churches. His arrest is part of the largest crackdown on Christians since 2018, with over 100 people detained in Wenzhou and nearly 30 pastors and members arrested in October, including Zion's founder, Jin Mingri. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, condemned the crackdown and called for the release of the church leaders.
Geng now faces impossible choices: to return to China and risk arrest, or stay abroad. 'Sometimes I wonder, is this real?' she said, grappling with the decision.
China recognises five official religions but bans religious activities outside state-sanctioned institutions. Zion Church operated openly in Beijing until 2018, when it was forced to close during a nationwide crackdown on unofficial Christian gatherings. It then adopted a hybrid model of online sermons and small in-person meetings, using creative methods to avoid detection, such as renting tour buses for worship.
The government has tightened controls further, introducing new rules in September banning unlicensed online sermons. President Xi Jinping has urged the 'Sinicization of religions,' and analysts say the recent arrests signal that unofficial churches will no longer be tolerated.
