China Bars U.S. Citizens from Leaving Amidst Persecution of Zion Church

Crackdown on Beijing Zion Church

• 📌 The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has launched a severe campaign against the Beijing Zion Church, one of China's largest urban house church networks.
• ⚡ Over 30 senior leaders, including founder Pastor Ezra Jin and Pastor Wang Lin, were arrested within 24 hours across nine provinces.
• ⚠️ This crackdown is described as the most serious campaign against the church since October 9th.

Travel Bans and Denied Rights

• 🚫 Pastor Wang Lin's wife and their two American-born children are banned from leaving China.
• 🏠 They have been denied basic rights, including access to education, freedom of movement, and the ability to rent or own homes.
• ⚖️ Public security officers are pressuring landlords and homeowners to prevent the family from securing housing.

Call for U.S. Intervention

• 🇺🇸 China Aid President Bob Fu urges President Trump and U.S. officials to pressure Xi Jinping to allow the American citizens to leave China.
• 🗣️ The U.S. State Department and elected officials are called upon to speak out for these American citizens denied their basic freedoms.

Broader Religious Persecution in China

• ✝️ The persecution of Zion Church is part of a wider, intensified campaign against religious freedom, reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution.
• ⛓️ Pastor Wang Yi of the Early Rain Covenant Church was sentenced to nine years for preaching a sermon critical of President Xi Jinping's policies.
• 📈 Despite severe persecution, including administrative detention and imprisonment for refusing to remove crosses, church growth and worship continue, with churches like Zion and Early Rain persisting even after being banned.