Overview
- Police carried out overnight raids on October 10–11 across at least seven cities, detaining about 30 pastors and members linked to the unregistered Zion Protestant network.
- Founder Pastor Jin Mingri, 56, was seized at his home in Beihai, Guangxi, with a detention notice alleging suspicion of “illegal use of information networks.”
- Human Rights Watch reports Jin and several pastors are held at Beihai City No. 2 Detention Center, at least five detainees have been released, and the whereabouts of many remain unclear.
- The U.S. State Department demanded the immediate release of those detained, while China’s foreign ministry declined to confirm the arrests and cautioned against foreign interference.
- Families cite blocked access to lawyers and health concerns for detainees, as rights groups describe the operation as the most extensive coordinated action against house churches in decades.