{"id":61223,"date":"2026-11-10T09:42:31","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T00:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=61223"},"modified":"2026-11-10T10:01:17","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T01:01:17","slug":"vomk-report-425","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2026\/11\/10\/vomk-report-425\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA RAISES VICTORY FLAG OVER BULLDOZED CHURCH BUILDING BUT BELIEVERS CONTINUE MEETING"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”61225″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”On May 19, the Yayang Church building in Yayang Town, Taishun County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province was reduced to ruins amidst the roar of heavy machinery. According to eyewitnesses, several large excavators and construction vehicles drove onto the scene under tight security and completely demolished this local landmark. ” 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=””]Today, the original site <\/span>has been<\/span> converted into a public park. On this open space, China\u2019s five-star red flag <\/span>towers above the surrounding buildings <\/span>on a pole several meters high. Twenty members of <\/span>Yayang<\/span> Church <\/span>remain<\/span> in custody.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]To the<\/span> outside world,<\/span> this symbolizes the total victory of the local government in this years-long battle of religion and resistance. But according to <\/span>Voice of the <\/span>Martyrs<\/span> Korea Representative Dr<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> Hyun Sook Foley<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>appearances are deceiving.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cLike so many other vibrant churches whose buildings were destroyed and whose leaders were imprisoned, <\/span>Yayang<\/span> Church has become a church without walls,\u201d <\/span>she<\/span> says.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”61229″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The <\/span>Yayang<\/span> Church belongs to the \u201cLocal Church\u201d movement, which can be traced back to the famous Chinese preacher Watchman Nee in the early 20th century. Due to its location in the relatively remote mountainous area of southern Zhejiang Province, the church managed to maintain its distance from the government, unlike other unregistered churches like Zion Church and Early Rain <\/span>Co<\/span>venant <\/span>Church, which are located in large metropolitan areas where conflict with authorities was virtually inevitable. Since <\/span>Yayang<\/span> Church was <\/span>located<\/span> near Wenzhou, the city known as \u201cthe Jerusalem of China<\/span>\u201d,<\/span> it was one of many <\/span>unregistered<\/span> churches<\/span> in the area with China\u2019s largest Christian population where authorities had historically been less restrictive<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]That changed when authorities launched <\/span>the <\/span>cross removal<\/span> project <\/span>in Zhejiang Province in 2014<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cThe <\/span>Wenzhou Christian community <\/span>pushed back against authorities<\/span>, and the <\/span>Yayang<\/span> Church was one of the churches on the front line of resistance against forced demolition<\/span> of crosses,\u201d says <\/span>Representative<\/span> Foley<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The direct trigger for th<\/span>e demolition of Yayang Church\u2019s building <\/span>began last summer when local officials demanded that flagpoles be set up and <\/span>China\u2019s national <\/span>flag be raised in churches, a move that believers believed violated the purity of the faith. In June 2025, government officials forced their way <\/span>o<\/span>nto the <\/span>Yayang<\/span> C<\/span>hurch <\/span>property, <\/span>demolish<\/span>ing <\/span>part of the exterior wall and erect<\/span>ing<\/span> a flagpole, sparking large-scale protests<\/span> by church members during which more than 100 were detained<\/span>. Relations between the two sides reached a stalemate for months until the church was finally razed to the ground<\/span> in May<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”61233″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Yayang Church\u2019s historic Meeting House (left), now demolished, has been replaced by authorities with a park (right)” 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_single_image image=”61237″ img_size=”full” 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:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Now twenty <\/span>Yayang<\/span> Church members remain in custody, including several from the same family, such as the four brothers Lin Enzhao, Lin Enci, Lin Enfeng, and Lin Enmin, as well as Ji Aijuan and the Lin Endian couple who were in charge of the children’s Sunday school ministry.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cChinese authorities <\/span>have <\/span>charged them with \u2018picking quarrels and provoking trouble<\/span><\/span>,<\/span>\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span> says <\/span>Representative Foley. <\/span>She <\/span>says the charge is <\/span>a vague legal provision often invoked to suppress dissidents and independent social organizations.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]With the destruction of the church<\/span> building<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>Yayang<\/span> Church members <\/span>are now forced to move \u201cunderground\u201d again, <\/span>dispersing <\/span>to<\/span> the homes of different believers to continue their secret gatherings.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”61241″ img_size=”full” 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: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 <\/span>Representative<\/span> Foley, <\/span>that\u2019s<\/span> not <\/span>a bad thing<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cChinese authorities are learning over and over again that it\u2019s easy to destroy a church building but virtually impossible to destroy a church,\u201d <\/span>she says. She <\/span>notes that even years after fellow unregistered churches Zion Church and Early Rain Church had their buildings destroyed and their leaders imprisoned, these churches <\/span>remain<\/span> strong, with new congregation members joining them and international prayer, <\/span>logistics<\/span>, and financial support <\/span>greater than ever<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cJesus himself said, \u2018Tear down this building and I will rebuild it in three days\u2019,\u201d says <\/span>Representative<\/span> Foley. \u201cAuthorities have taken away the outward homes of <\/span>Yayang<\/span>, Zion, Early Rain, and countless other Chinese churches, but authorities can<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>t<\/span> take away believers\u2019 permanent home in the body of Christ.\u201d\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><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_column][\/vc_column]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”61225″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”On May 19, the Yayang Church building in Yayang Town, Taishun County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province was reduced to ruins amidst the roar of heavy …","protected":false},"author":1959,"featured_media":0,"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-61223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.6","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\/61223","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=61223"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61245,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61223\/revisions\/61245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}