Police raid Early Rain Covenant Church in Jiangyou, China
Armed police descended on a hotel ballroom at roughly 11:00 local time, rounding up >30 members and leaders of the house church for interrogation. Two of the church’s leaders, Yan Hong and Wu Wuqing, were taken to a detention centre in Jiangyou, with no clear reason given.
The raid involved at least 50 police officers, including SWAT teams. Congregants were held in the ballroom, subjected to identity checks, and forced to sit in several police vehicles. They sang hymns and prayed until release between 18:00 and 23:00.
The leaders had previously been detained in 2018 and again in January this year for alleged “subversion” and “picking quarrels.” This latest raid follows China’s broader crackdown on unregistered churches, which the Communist Party insists cultivate state‑sanctioned worship.
Religious‑rights groups warn that peaceful worship remains targeted as a threat to the party’s control, underscoring a tightening of religious freedom in the country.
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