{"id":57030,"date":"2026-01-06T14:00:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T05:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=57030"},"modified":"2026-01-06T14:59:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T05:59:05","slug":"vomk-report-380","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2026\/01\/06\/vomk-report-380\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA: MASSIVE FIREWORKS SHOW FOLLOWS CRACKDOWN ON SECOND MAJOR HOUSE CHURCH NETWORK"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”57033″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea and its US partner China Aid are reporting the second major crackdown on a Chinese house church network in the past three months. This time the target was the historic Yayang Meeting Place in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, where more than one thousand police and public safety officers participated in a raid on December 15. According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, authorities followed the raid with a massive unscheduled fireworks show for the community that evening.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left|color:%23111111″ google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” css=”” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201c<\/span>December 15<\/span>\u00a0was n<\/span>ot\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a0festival day<\/span>, nor were\u00a0<\/span>any official celebrations planned,\u00a0<\/span>but a massive\u00a0<\/span>fireworks<\/span>\u00a0show\u00a0<\/span>was held in the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Town Government Square<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>without explanation on the same day as the\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church Raid,<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Whether it was intended as a celebration of\u00a0<\/span>a successful\u00a0<\/span>strike against the\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>church\u00a0<\/span>network\u00a0<\/span>or a cover-up of the police activities is unclear.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]According to\u00a0<\/span>local residents<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>church members<\/span>, thousands of\u00a0<\/span>police<\/span>\u00a0and firefighters from Hangzhou,\u00a0<\/span>Pingyang<\/span>\u00a0and other\u00a0<\/span>areas of\u00a0<\/span>Zhejiang Province were transferred to\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Town\u00a0<\/span>beginning on December 13.<\/span>\u00a0At 3:20 am on December 15, special police forcibly entered the\u00a0<\/span>church\u00a0<\/span>building<\/span>, where many church members were present<\/span>. Reports\u00a0<\/span>indicate<\/span>\u00a0that<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>over the next two\u00a0<\/span>days,\u00a0<\/span>several hundred people associated with the\u00a0<\/span>Yay<\/span>a<\/span>ng<\/span>\u00a0Church Network\u00a0<\/span>were\u00a0<\/span>detained\u00a0<\/span>for investigation.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”57034″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cLocal sources confirmed that\u00a0<\/span>the intersection\u00a0<\/span>adjacent\u00a0<\/span>to the church was completely blocked by police, and Christians in\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Town were\u00a0<\/span>prevented from\u00a0<\/span>enter<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church<\/span>\u00a0during and after the raid<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>She says t<\/span>he\u00a0<\/span>police\u00a0<\/span>operation lasted\u00a0<\/span>nearly five<\/span>\u00a0days, but no statement\u00a0<\/span>has been\u00a0<\/span>released<\/span>\u00a0by authorities<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]According to Representative Foley,\u00a0<\/span>online\u00a0<\/span>inquiries by local netizens about the reason for the massive fireworks display were met with vague replies.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201c<\/span>The following was a typical reply<\/span>\u00a0from officials<\/span>:\u00a0<\/span>\u2018<\/span>T<\/span>he masses spontaneously celebrated the fight against organized crime<\/span>\u2019<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0says Representative Foley.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The raid is the second major raid on a house church network in China\u00a0<\/span>in the past three months<\/span>, following the October 15 arrest of 30 leaders of the Zion C<\/span>h<\/span>urch Network, including founding pastor Ezra Jin.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”57037″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”After raiding Yayang Church, authorities held a massive unscheduled fireworks show for the community that evening. (Youtube screenshot of video by @yesterdayBigcat)” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]According to Representative Foley, the\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0House Church Network is a group of twelve churches within a half-hour drive of each other in\u00a0<\/span>Taishun<\/span>\u00a0County<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. \u201cWenzhou is often called \u2018China\u2019s Jerusalem<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0because of the high concentration of Christians<\/span>\u00a0there<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cThe\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Churches trace their\u00a0<\/span>history\u00a0<\/span>back to famed Chinese house church leader Watchman Nee. Each of the twelve churches is independent, but they have regular fellowship and communication.\u201d She says the\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church in\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Town, the target of the\u00a0<\/span>raid<\/span>\u00a0has long served as the\u00a0<\/span>\u201chub\u201d of the n<\/span>etwork.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201c<\/span>In 2014,\u00a0<\/span>there was a large-scale cross removal campaign by\u00a0<\/span>authorities in the\u00a0<\/span>Zhejiang\u00a0<\/span>region, but<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church<\/span>es refused to compromise, and all the crosses on their churches were preserved, though many of the church members were arrested,\u201d says\u00a0<\/span>Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Then i<\/span>n a 2017 clash, law enforcement officers got into a physical altercation with worshippers after the church refused to install surveillance cameras, leaving several people injured.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”57038″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading class=”EOP SCXW204348538 BCX8″ lang=”KO-KR”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Finally, i<\/span>n the early morning of June 24 this year, Li Bin, the mayor of\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Town, took a hundred people\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church, demolished the\u00a0<\/span>church\u00a0<\/span>walls and gates, and forcibly erected a flagpole to raise the national flag.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cThe forced flag raising is part of the Communist Party\u2019s \u2018five-in\u2019 policy where religious sites across China have\u00a0<\/span>been required<\/span>\u00a0to introduce the national flag, constitution, laws and core socialist values into their physical space and their teaching,\u201d says Representative Foley. She says\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church members resisted the forced flagpole installation.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”57039″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Front entrance to Yayang Church on December 19.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”57040″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Wanted poster for Yayang Church\u2019s Lin Enzhao and Lin Enci” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cT<\/span>wo church members associated with that refusal,\u00a0<\/span>Lin\u00a0<\/span>Enzhao<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and Lin Enci,\u00a0<\/span>are now shown on \u2018Wanted\u2019 posters circulated by authorities,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cThe authorities call them \u2018<\/span>the main suspects of the criminal gang<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>offer rewards of\u00a0<\/span>1,000 to 5,000 yuan\u00a0<\/span>(200,000 to 1,000,000 KRW) for information leading to their arrest.<\/span>\u00a0Police came to each house in the area and asked Christians to accuse the men of \u2018picking quarrels and provoking trouble\u2019.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says Voice of the Martyrs Korea and\u00a0<\/span>China Aid\u00a0<\/span>are calling on believers around the world\u00a0<\/span>to continue to\u00a0<\/span>watch\u00a0<\/span>th<\/span>e\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church\u00a0<\/span>matter<\/span>\u00a0closely<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>intercede for\u00a0<\/span>the Christians there.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Individuals interested in learning about or supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s work in partnership with persecuted Christians in China can visit www.vomkorea.com\/<\/a><\/span>en\/<\/span>china<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”57033″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea and its US partner China Aid are reporting the second major crackdown on a Chinese house church network in the past …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":57032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57030"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57189,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57030\/revisions\/57189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}