China Detains Over 100 Christians in Zhejiang Ahead of Christmas
December 13–18, 2025
Reports from local residents and online sources indicate that Chinese authorities carried out a large-scale crackdown on Christians in Yayuan Town, Taishun County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, between December 13 and 18, 2025.
Beginning on December 13, more than 1,000 police officers, reportedly dispatched from Hangzhou, Pingyang, and other areas, sealed off Yayuan Town and launched mass arrests targeting local Christian believers. Over 100 people were detained within the first two days, with at least four additional arrests reported on December 16 and 17. Information related to the operation was tightly controlled.
The crackdown came to public attention on December 15, when local authorities unexpectedly staged a large fireworks display at the town government square despite the absence of any public holiday. The event drew widespread online attention, and local netizens later disclosed that the fireworks coincided with the ongoing arrests.
Authorities issued wanted notices for two prominent church leaders—58-year-old Lin Enzhao and 54-year-old Lin Enci—labeling them “key suspects in a criminal gang” and accusing them of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a broadly defined charge. No specific criminal evidence was made public.
Human Rights Watch also shared this on X: “Over the past decade, Christians in the Yayang Church have been resisting government actions to demolish church crosses and install surveillance cameras.”
According to informed sources, the operation was triggered by the local church’s resistance to state-mandated “Sinicization of religion” policies, particularly its refusal to display the national flag inside church premises. Tensions had escalated earlier this year, when local officials forcibly entered a church site to install a flagpole.
On December 18, authorities held a public “anti-crime” mobilization rally in Yayuan Town, featuring armed police units. Observers note that the campaign reflects a broader national trend under which religious communities—especially unregistered house churches—are increasingly criminalized amid Beijing’s push to tighten ideological and political control over religion.
Uyghur Times has not independently verified this information.
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