{"id":59244,"date":"2026-06-02T09:50:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T00:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=59244"},"modified":"2026-06-02T13:20:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T04:20:55","slug":"vomk-report-400","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2026\/06\/02\/vomk-report-400\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA: AUTHORITIES FORCIBLY DEMOLISH BUILDING OF PROMINENT WENZHOU CHURCH"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”59258″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”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\u2019s the culmination of clashes between the church and authorities dating back to 2014.” 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=””]\u201cEyewitnesses confirmed that o<\/span>n or around May 19,\u00a0<\/span>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,\u201d said Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Hyun Sook Foley.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Churches are a network of twelve congregations around Wenzhou w<\/span>hich trace their history back to famed Chinese house chu<\/span>rch leader Watchman Nee<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Representative Foley<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>says the\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church in\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Town has long served as the \u201chub\u201d of the network.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cIn 2014, there was a large-scale cross removal campaign by authorities in the Zhejiang region, but the\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Churches refused to compromise,<\/span>\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cAll\u00a0<\/span>the crosses on their churches were preserved, though many of the church members were arrested.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”59276″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”59249″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Yayang Church\u2019s historic Meeting House, now demolished” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13|text_align:center|color:%23111111″ css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Then in 2017, law enforcement officers got into a physical altercation with worshippers after the church refused to install surveillance cameras,\u00a0<\/span>reportedly\u00a0<\/span>leaving<\/span>\u00a0several people injured.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]I<\/span>n the early morning of June 24<\/span>, 2025<\/span>, Li Bin, the mayor of\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Town,\u00a0<\/span>led a group of approximately one\u00a0<\/span>hundred people to\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church<\/span>\u00a0Meeting House<\/span>, demolish<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0the church walls and gates and forcibly erect<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0a flagpole\u00a0<\/span>for\u00a0<\/span>the national flag<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]On December 15, 2025, m<\/span>ore than one thousand police and public safety officers\u00a0<\/span>participated<\/span>\u00a0in a raid on\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church Meeting House<\/span>. According to Representative Foley, authorities followed the raid with a massive unscheduled fireworks show for the community that evening.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”59252″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”In March 2026, Yayang Church in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, was covered by tarps and the cross on the steeple taken down.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13|text_align:center|color:%23111111″ css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cThat same week, at a public event, an unidentified government official announced: \u2018We will see this campaign through to the end<\/span><\/span>,<\/span>\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0says Representative Foley.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]That end appeared to come<\/span>\u00a0on May 1<\/span>9<\/span>\u00a0with the demolition of the\u00a0<\/span>Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church Meeting House.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says that local sources confirmed that c<\/span>oncurrently with the demolition, authorities arrested four church members. They\u00a0<\/span>join<\/span>\u00a018 other members of\u00a0<\/span>Ya<\/span>yang<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Church previously jailed by<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>authorities.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]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\u00a0<\/span>established<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>roughly one<\/span>\u00a0kilometer 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.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”59255″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”On Dec. 18, 2025, law enforcement officers gather in Yayang City, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. (Video screengrab)” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13|text_align:center|color:%23111111″ css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Authorities\u00a0<\/span>reportedly imposed<\/span>\u00a0strict information controls ahead of the\u00a0<\/span>demolition,<\/span>\u00a0measures that sources said appeared intended to limit public scrutiny.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Yayang<\/span>\u00a0Church (also referred to as\u00a0<\/span>Yazhong<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Church)<\/span>\u00a0is\u00a0<\/span>an unregistered Protestant church in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province \u2013 a region known as \u201cChina\u2019s Jerusalem\u201d<\/span>\u00a0because of the comparatively large Christian population there.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]As of publication, neither the Wenzhou municipal government nor the\u00a0<\/span>Taishun<\/span>\u00a0County Public Security Bureau had issued a statement.\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 <\/span><\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/china.<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”59258″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”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 …","protected":false},"author":1959,"featured_media":59259,"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-59244","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\/59244","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\/1959"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59244"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59320,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59244\/revisions\/59320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}