Washington, Jan 8 (IANS) Half a dozen members of an underground Protestant church based in Sichuan's Chengdu have been arrested by the Chinese authorities, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) mentioned in a statement. This is the latest in a series of arrests of members of prominent unofficial "house churches" in China in the past year, it stated.

On January 6, the Early Rain Covenant Church stated that police conducted raid at the home of its current leader, Li Yingqiang, in Deyang and took him away. It further said that other key church members have also been taken into custody, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated in a news release.

Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated, "The Chinese government has ushered in the new year with new arrests of underground Protestant church members." Yalkun Uluyol further said, "The government should immediately free those detained and let them freely practice their religion."

Those detained include Ye Fenghua, Yan Hong, Zeng Qingtao and Dai Zhichao. Police has summoned another Early Rain adherent, Shu Qiong in Chengdu for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." Police also summoned Wu Wuqing, then released and warned against "being involved in the case."

The Human Rights Watch stated further, "The Chinese government should immediately free those being detained for their religious beliefs and practices as protected under international human rights law. Until their release, the authorities should provide information about the detainees to their families and ensure that they have access to lawyers of their choice."

The crackdown on Early Rain Covenant Church was conducted just weeks after authorities reportedly detained approximately 100 members of another unofficial Protestant church, Yayang Church in Zhejiang's Wenzhou between December 13-18, 2025. At least 24 members continue to remain in detention.

"Local authorities surrounded the church on January 5 with hundreds of armed and special police, as well as bulldozers and other machinery, apparently to demolish part or all of the church, according to the US-based religious freedom organization China Aid. In October 2025, in a nationwide crackdown, the authorities arrested nearly 30 pastors, preachers, and church members of Zion Protestant Church in seven cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang," the HRW detailed.

"Those arrested include the church’s founder and pastor, Ezra Jin Mingri. In mid-2025, courts in China convicted about a dozen people affiliated with the Linfen Golden Lampstand Church, an underground Protestant church in Shanxi province, for fraud. The church’s cofounder and pastor, Wang Xiaoguang, and his wife, Yang Rongli, were sentenced to 9 and 15 years in prison, respectively," it added.

Founded in 2008, Early Rain Covenant Church has been targetted by the Chinese government for years. More than 100 congregants were taken into police custody in December, 2018. In 2019, its founding pastor, Wang Yi, was sentenced to nine years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power" and conducting "illegal business operations," while another church leader, Qin Defu, was imprisoned for four years for conducting "illegal business operations." The current leader, Li Yingqiang, and three others were briefly detained in September 2024 for suspected "illegal activities."

Human Rights Watch stated that concerned government should condemn Chinese government's assault on religious freedom and pressurise the authorities to free those related to underground churches who have been detained for exercising their basic rights.

"Xi Jinping’s government has tightened ideological control and intensified its intolerance of loyalties beyond the Chinese Communist Party... Concerned governments and religious leaders around the world should press the Chinese government to free detained religious adherents and respect religious freedom in China,” mentioned Yalkun Uluyol.

--IANS

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