On 9 October 2025, Pastor Wang Lin was taken away by police during a crackdown on Zion Church. Zion Church is a “house church” – in other words, one of the primarily protestant churches in China that operate independently of the state-approved religious system and therefore lack official registration. Wang Lin’s case highlights ongoing concerns about religious freedom for independent Christian communities in China. In the months that followed Wang’s arrest, his wife Su Ziming and their young son and daughter endured constant surveillance and harassment, restrictions on their ability to leave China, and prolonged family separation. Today, Su and her children live in the United States, while her husband remains detained in China.
Here, Su tells Amnesty International how the crackdown changed the course of her family’s life and describes the wider repression faced by China’s “house churches” and its faith-based communities
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How did your husband end up a faith leader?
Before becoming a pastor, Wang Lin worked as a lawyer. In 2006, after he became a Christian, he left the legal profession, enrolled in seminary, and spent several years in the US pursuing theological studies. We returned to China at the end of 2017 and Wang Lin became a faith leader at Beijing Zion Church.
As a pastor, his greatest joy came from being with others.
In 2018, the Chinese authorities shut down Beijing Zion Church. What happened next?
After the shutdown, many members were driven out of Beijing by authorities through harassment, including coerced evictions, or concerns about their jobs. A congregation that had once worshipped together found itself scattered across the country.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, believers stayed connected through Zoom services and online Bible studies. Gradually, the church became a network spanning multiple provinces rather than a single congregation based in Beijing.
And did the authorities allow this?
No! At the same time this network develop
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