China’s crackdown on underground churches intensifies with new arrests

Posted on January 9, 2026 
Filed under World news

“An influential Protestant church in China says prominent leaders have been arrested in what appears to be a growing crackdown on the underground church movement.

Nine people were detained on Tuesday after police raided their homes and the church office in Chengdu, in central China, the Early Rain Covenant Church said. Five had been released by Wednesday.

More than 1,000 miles away in Wenzhou, authorities began demolishing the Yayang Church building…”

– Report from BBC News.

Illustration: Autograph book entry, probably by a student studying at SMBC.