February 6, 2026 | The Diplomat
How American Technology Helps China Persecute Its Christians
Technologies evolved from U.S. hardware and software are used to surveil and arrest China’s people, especially minorities and those with religious beliefs.
February 6, 2026 | The Diplomat
How American Technology Helps China Persecute Its Christians
Technologies evolved from U.S. hardware and software are used to surveil and arrest China’s people, especially minorities and those with religious beliefs.
Excerpt
When Chinese authorities raided the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu in 2018, Li Yingqiang, the sole church elder to temporarily escape custody, placed his children in the care of another family and went into hiding.
The leaders of Early Rain thought they had prepared for a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) crackdown, yet their efforts were to no avail. More than 100 out of 500 church members were arrested in the 2018 raid, including Early Rain’s leader, Pastor Wang Yi. Authorities later sentenced Wang to nine years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power” and “illegal business activities” following a quick, closed-door trial.
Samuel Ben-Ur is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on China and Christian persecution.