US Demands China Free 30 Arrested Leaders of Underground Church

Mon Oct 13 2025 17:06:49 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

The US has urged China to release 30 leaders, including the founder of Zion Church, who were detained during a crackdown on underground Christian groups. This marks one of the most extensive actions against religious freedom in China in decades.

The U.S. government has called for the immediate release of 30 leaders from China's underground church network, including Zion Church founder Jin Mingri, following their detention in a series of raids. This crackdown has been described as one of the most severe against Christians in decades, as the Chinese Communist Party continues to enforce strict regulations on religious practices. The situation poses yet another potential source of tension in U.S.-China relations amidst existing trade disputes.

The US has called for the release of 30 leaders of one of China's largest underground church networks who were reportedly detained over the weekend in overnight raids in various cities.

The list includes several pastors and Zion Church founder Jin Mingri who was arrested in the early hours of Saturday after 10 officers searched his home, US-based non-profit ChinaAid said.

The Chinese Communist Party promotes atheism and tightly controls religion - but some Christian groups are calling this the most extensive crackdown against the faith in decades.

Christians have long been pressured to join only state-sanctioned churches that are led by government-approved pastors and toe the party line.

It is unclear if the detainees have been formally charged.

Such systematic persecution is not only an affront to the Church of God but also a public challenge to the international community, Zion Church said in a statement.

Urging China to release the church leaders, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Sunday that this crackdown further demonstrates how the CCP exercises hostility towards Christians who reject Party interference in their faith and choose to worship at unregistered house churches.

Former US Vice-President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have also released statements on X condemning the arrests.

When asked about the arrests at a press conference, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said he was not aware of the case.

He added: The Chinese government governs religious affairs in accordance with the law, and protects the religious freedom of citizens and normal religious activities. We firmly oppose the US interfering in China's internal affairs with so-called religious issues.

This could be yet another source of friction in the US-China relationship with trade tensions once again ramping up between the world's two biggest economies over tariffs and export controls.

Already, there is doubt over whether a summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, which was expected to happen in South Korea later this month, will proceed.

Under Xi, Beijing has cracked down even more on religious freedom, especially against Christians and Muslims.

Despite this, there has been a growing movement of unregistered house churches in China.

Among them is Zion Church, which Mr Jin started in 2007 with just 20 people. Its network now includes some 10,000 people in 40 cities across the country, making it one of the largest underground churches in China.

In September 2018, the Party officially banned the church after it resisted government pressure to install security cameras at its property in Beijing. Mr Jin and several church leaders were detained briefly.

Many of its branch congregations across the country have since been investigated and shut down. Mr Jin's family has relocated to the US for safety, while he remained in China to pastor his flock.

ChinaAid has called this roundup of Christian leaders - which involved police across several cities - unprecedented, and the most extensive and coordinated wave of persecution against Christians in over four decades.

Mr Jin's wife Liu Chunli expressed her distress over the situation, stating her heart is filled with a mix of shock, grief, sorrow, worry, and righteous anger and noted, He is innocent!