CCP Raids Churches, Arrests Hundreds of Christians in ‘China’s Jerusalem’

Chinese authorities conducted a massive raid on Christian faith groups days before Christmas in Wenzhou — known as “China’s Jerusalem” — detaining hundreds of worshipers. Many were from Yayang Church, one of the largest unregistered Protestant congregations in China. Authorities deployed more than 1,000 police officers, SWAT units, riot control forces, and firefighters in Wenzhou, in coastal Zhejiang Province, whose sizeable Christian population earned the city its distinctive moniker.

Many Chinese Christians pray at “house churches,” communities that are unregistered with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), out of a desire to practice their faith freely. The police also arrested prominent church leaders Lin Enzhao and Lin Enci, who protested the CCP’s oppression of Christians in the past. On January 8, authorities returned to Wenzhou to demolish Yayang Church while simultaneously arresting the pastor of Early Rain Covenant Church, which faced raids in the past.

The arrests represent one of the largest crackdowns on Christians since the days of Chairman Mao Zedong, who completely banned religion.

The CCP Looks To Remake Christianity in Its Image

Launched formally in 2018, Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping’s “Sinicization” program was a five-year-plan designed to bring Christian worship and belief into line with national priorities. Today, the CCP continues to attempt to convert Christianity into a vehicle for government propaganda. Churches in China, especially ones registered with the state, are often required to display national flags and portraits of Xi, replace traditional hymns with patriotic anthems, and incorporate “Xi Jinping Thought” into seminary training. State censors and security agencies monitor sermons and even Bible translations to ensure political conformity.

Xi has tightened his stranglehold on faith and placed enforcement of religious law directly in the hands of the CCP. He demoted the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the governmental body formerly charged with enforcement of religious regulation, and placed it under the CCP’s United Work Front Department. New regulations ban minors from attending church, restrict online evangelism, and prohibit unauthorized fundraising. Most notably, Sinicization has consistently featured large-scale raids on underground Christian communities.

A Larger Raid, but Part of a Pattern of Force

The forces mobilized in December were larger than in other raids, more people were arrested, and dozens of individual house churches were shut down. But other than scale, the repression follows a well-known pattern.

Police raided Chengdu’s Early Rain Covenant Church in 2018, arresting their leader, Pastor Wang Yi, and more than 100 congregants. Yi was later sentenced to nine years in prison and remains there today. On January 8, 2025, reports surfaced that Early Rain had been raided again by Chinese authorities. Wang Yi’s successor, Pastor Li Yingqiang, had warned of a “storm gathering” and predicted another crackdown. Li, along with his wife and seven other church members, were arrested. Five remain in custody including Li. In October, authorities carried out a sweep of Beijing’s Zion Church, detaining dozens of pastors as well as the leader of Zion, Pastor Ezra Jin.

To Protect Chinese Christians, Washington Should Target China’s Repression Apparatus

China has one of the largest and most vulnerable faith communities in the world. There are up to 130 million Chinese Christians, though since the majority are unregistered, concrete figures are difficult to find. The United States has designated China a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act for violations since 1999, yet repression continues to intensify.

Congress has already urged action. In November, Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to use the Global Magnitsky Act to sanction Chinese officials persecuting Christians. That approach should be targeted towards collaborators with the CCP’s United Front Work Department, which Senator Tom Cotton called for in proposed legislation. Washington sanctioned the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau for the human rights abuses it perpetrated against Uyghur Muslims. The same determination could be applied to Public Security Bureau units in Zhejiang.

Samuel Ben-Ur is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Sam and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.