CHINA: HUNAN POLICE DECLARE “ANYONE WHO DOESN’T ENTER THREE-SELF CHURCH IS A CULT”, RAID PROMINENT HOUSE CHURCH
In what persecution watchdog organizations are calling a long-planned coordinated operation, authorities in Yueyang City, Hunan Province, China, carried out a large-scale raid on multiple meeting locations of Rock Bible Church, a prominent house church, on Saturday evening July 11.
Pastor Huang Lei as he ended detention in April 2024 (file photo)
Those arrested included Senior Pastor Huang Lei, Elder Yang Jianjun, Teacher Yuan Shiying, and many believers, including children and teenagers. Most of those arrested were released within 24 or 48 hours; however six of the church’s senior leaders remain in custody. Voice of the Martyrs Korea and its US-based partner China Aid say those who are still detained are facing rapidly escalating legal sanctions. They believe authorities are planning to quickly transfer the case to the prosecutor’s office for criminal prosecution.
According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, those who were investigated and released report that police told them, “Any Christian who does not enter the government’s Three-Self Church is a cult.”
“Those who were taken away were interrogated for a long time and were forced to make transcripts, give their fingerprints, give their blood for DNA testing, and record voiceprints and video materials, in order to establish detailed personal information files and further incorporate them into the public security monitoring system,” says Representative Foley.
Church leaders in Yueyang City, Hunan Province, on December 25, 2021 (file photo)
According to Representative Foley, at around 7:40 that night, Yueyang police launched simultaneous arrests at multiple gathering places.
“At that time, some of the believers were participating in a study group called ‘Parents’ Classroom’ and were subsequently detained on the spot by the police,” she says. “Then around 9 p.m., Preacher Hu Hongtao was forcibly taken away by the police at his home and has not returned. Wang Ling, the wife of Senior Pastor Huang Lei, said that the police confiscated the Bible and spiritual books in their home when searching his residence. However, as she prepared to rest that night, she was surprised to find a Bible under her pillow.”
The raid marks the third time Senior Pastor Huang Lei has been detained by police since 2022 in connection with the church’s refusal to affiliate with the government’s Three-Self Church.
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.