CHINA: AUTHORITIES FORCIBLY DEMOLISH BUILDING OF PROMINENT WENZHOU CHURCH
Authorities forcibly demolished the historic Yayang Church Meeting House in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province in eastern China last month, according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea and its US-based partner China Aid. They say it’s the culmination of clashes between the church and authorities dating back to 2014.
“Eyewitnesses confirmed that on or around May 19, heavy construction vehicles passed through tightly controlled security checkpoints, and crews then demolished the multi-level sanctuary from the top down, leaving nothing but rubble,” said Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley.
The Yayang Churches are a network of twelve congregations around Wenzhou which trace their history back to famed Chinese house church leader Watchman Nee. Representative Foley says the Yayang Church in Yayang Town has long served as the “hub” of the network.
“In 2014, there was a large-scale cross removal campaign by authorities in the Zhejiang region, but the Yayang Churches refused to compromise,” says Representative Foley. “All the crosses on their churches were preserved, though many of the church members were arrested.”
Yayang Church’s historic Meeting House, now demolished
Then in 2017, law enforcement officers got into a physical altercation with worshippers after the church refused to install surveillance cameras, reportedly leaving several people injured.
In the early morning of June 24, 2025, Li Bin, the mayor of Yayang Town, led a group of approximately one hundred people to the Yayang Church Meeting House, demolishing the church walls and gates and forcibly erecting a flagpole for the national flag.
On December 15, 2025, more than one thousand police and public safety officers participated in a raid on the Yayang Church Meeting House. According to Representative Foley, authorities followed the raid with a massive unscheduled fireworks show for the community that evening.
In March 2026, Yayang Church in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, was covered by tarps and the cross on the steeple taken down.
“That same week, at a public event, an unidentified government official announced: ‘We will see this campaign through to the end,’” says Representative Foley.
That end appeared to come on May 19 with the demolition of the Yayang Church Meeting House.
Representative Foley says that local sources confirmed that concurrently with the demolition, authorities arrested four church members. They join 18 other members of Yayang Church previously jailed by authorities.
According to Representative Foley, Multiple confidential sources said the area surrounding the church had been placed under lockdown in recent weeks, while checkpoints and guard posts were established roughly one kilometer from the site to prevent unauthorized access. She says that in March the building was covered in tarps and the cross on the steeple was removed.
On Dec. 18, 2025, law enforcement officers gather in Yayang City, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. (Video screengrab)
Authorities reportedly imposed strict information controls ahead of the demolition, measures that sources said appeared intended to limit public scrutiny.
Yayang Church (also referred to as Yazhong Church) is an unregistered Protestant church in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province – a region known as “China’s Jerusalem” because of the comparatively large Christian population there.
As of publication, neither the Wenzhou municipal government nor the Taishun County Public Security Bureau had issued a statement.
Individuals interested in learning about or supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s work in partnership with persecuted Christians in China can visit www.vomkorea.com/en/china.