Fears of Chinese crackdown on Christians as 30 arrested

Police in China have detained 30 Christians in the largest crackdown on those practicing the religion in years, it has been reported. Authorities took dozens of people into custody with links to one of the largest underground church networks not legally sanctioned by the state over the weekend. The mass detentions of those associated with Zion Church was condemned by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who called for their immediate release, contributing to growing tensions between the two superpowers.

Church spokesperson Sean Long said the arrest of the church network's founder Jin Mingri at his home in the Guangxi province, among others, was part of "a new wave of religious persecution". He also alleged that police had questioned over 150 worshippers and harrassed attendees at Sunday services in recent months. Mr Jin's daughter Grace Jin told Reuters: "He's been hospitalised in the past for diabetes. We're worried since he requires medication. I've also been notified that lawyers are not allowed to meet the pastors, so that is very concerning to us."

Mr Long said around 30 pastors and church members had been arrested nationwide, 20 of whom remained in detention as of October 13.

It comes weeks after President Xi Jinping pledged to "implement strict law enforcement" to advance the "sinicization" of religion, meaning the assimilation of non-Chinese individuals into Chinese culture.

Official figures suggest that over 44 million Christians in China are registered with state-sanctioned churches, while tens of millions more are involved in illegal "house churches", operating out of the control of Mr Xinping's Communist party.

A former pastor at a sanctioned Protestant church, Mr Jin founded Zion Church, which has around 5,000 regular worshippers across almost 50 cities, in 2007, Reuters reports. He is said to have converted to Christianity after the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989.

Mr Jin is being held in a detention centre on suspicion of "illegal use of information networks", according to an official notice, an offence which carries a maximum of seven years behind bars.

"The key underlying reason [behind the arrests] is that Zion Church has grown explosively into a well-organised network in recent years, which of course must scare the Communist Party leadership," Bob Fu, founder of the Christian NGO ChinaAid, said.

"The Chinese government's arbitrary detention of dozens of people affiliated with Zion Church reflects an escalating crackdown on religious freedom," Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch, added.

"President Xi Jinping's government appears intent on reshaping religious practice to serve the Chinese Communist Party's interests, and congregations that fail to do so face harsh persecution.

"The Chinese Government's crackdown on religious practice is tied to its efforts to tighten ideological control, both at home and abroad. Governments should ensure the Chinese government is held accountable for such violations and press for religious freedom in China."