Underground Christian pastors arrested in China during latest religious crackdown

Eighteen leaders of a prominent Chinese underground church have been formally arrested, an advocate for a Christian NGO has confirmed, meaning they will now face trial and potential prison sentences of up to three years.

This development follows a significant crackdown on Chinese Christians, the largest of its kind since 2018, which saw nearly 30 pastors and staff from Zion Church – an unofficial 'house church' – detained nationwide in mid-October.

Among those currently held in detention centres in the southern city of Beihai is the church's founder, Pastor Jin Mingri.

Beihai police could not be reached for comment, and China's ministry of public security did not immediately respond to a faxed request.

While five individuals were released in October, and a further four support staff granted bail around 10 November, the remaining 18 have now been formally charged with “illegally using information networks”.

This information was provided by Bob Fu, founder of the Christian NGO ChinaAid, who maintains close contact with the families of the detained pastors and Zion Church leadership.

The crime carries a prison sentence of up to three years.

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After a criminal suspect is detained in China, their formal arrest marks the beginning of a criminal investigation leading to trial, a process which could take over a year in complex cases.

Jin, 56, was able to meet his lawyer on 14 October, after the case started receiving foreign media attention, Grace Jin said. She previously told Reuters that her family was worried about the health of her father, who requires medication for diabetes, and the detainees' access to lawyers.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the detentions and called for the immediate release of the group last month.

The crackdown on Zion Church came a month after new rules from China's top religion regulator banned unauthorised online preaching or religious training by clergy, as well as "foreign collusion".

China has more than 44 million Christians registered with state-sanctioned churches, the majority Protestant, official figures show.

But tens of millions more are estimated to be part of illegal "house churches" that operate outside the control of the ruling Communist Party, according to thinktanks and NGOs.

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Zion Church, with about 5,000 regular worshippers across nearly 50 cities, rapidly added members during the COVID-19 pandemic through Zoom sermons and small in-person gatherings. The church was founded by Jin, also known as Ezra, in 2007, after he quit as a pastor for the official state-controlled Protestant church.

A graduate of the elite Peking University, Jin converted to Christianity after witnessing the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, a spokesperson for the church has said.

In 2018, police shut down its church building in Beijing, during a crackdown on major house churches. Earlier this year, police temporarily detained 11 Zion Church pastors, a church spokesperson previously told Reuters.