Responding to the detention of two Chinese Protestant church leaders and the interrogation by police of multiple members of the congregation during a service on Sunday, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said:
“The detention of church leaders from the Early Rain Covenant Church is the latest example of the Chinese government’s efforts to crack down on independent religious activity and enforce state control over belief and worship.
“Over the past year, authorities have intensified control over religious activities through unlawful surveillance, raids and unfair prosecutions under anti-‘cult’ and security provisions – resulting in repeated attacks on individuals solely for peacefully exercising their right to religious freedom.
“Members of the Early Rain Covenant Church have faced years of harassment and intimidation – the 2019 imprisonment of its leader Wang Yi marking the start of a period of intensifying repression of Christian groups in China.
“The Chinese authorities must immediately release the two leaders detained, end their crackdown on all religious groups in the country, and uphold the right of everyone to freedom of religion. No one should be detained simply due to their religious beliefs.”
Background
The Early Rain Covenant Church said on Monday it was raided by armed police midway through its Sunday service in the south-western city of Jiangyou, Sichuan province.
Spokespersons for the church said more than 30 members were taken away for interrogation, and two leaders remain detained. A church messaging account shared photographs and videos that show congregants surrounded by SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactical Unit) officers.
Founded in 2005, the Early Rain Covenant Church is one of the largest and most prominent “house churches” in China. In December 2018, authorities carried out a large-scale crackdown on the church, detaining more than 100 members. The church’s founding pastor Wang Yi was later convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” and “illegal business operations” and sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment in December 2019.
Amnesty International has documented an intensification in the Chinese government’s repression of religious activities over the past year. In September 2025, authorities introduced the Religious Personnel Online Conduct Rules, further tightening state control over religious activities and imposing additional restrictions on the online activities of religious personnel, while requiring their support for the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.
In October 2025, authorities launched a nationwide operation against the unofficial Zion Church network, detaining nearly 30 pastors and members in at least seven cities, of which at least 18 individuals were formally arrested on suspicion of “illegally using information networks.”
Under international human rights law, everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, including the freedom to manifest their religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching, either individually or in community with others and in public or private.
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