Zion Church Still Operating Despite Chinese Crackdown, Says Founder's Daughter

(CNA, Taipei, 21st) The Chinese government arrested nearly 20 people associated with the unofficial Christian group Zion Church last October, including its founder Jin Mingri. According to Voice of America, Pastor Jin Mingri's daughter, Jin Tingya, recently revealed that Zion Church is still in operation. During a past visit to Beijing, then-U.S. President Donald Trump held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. On his return flight aboard Air Force One, Trump told the media that Xi had promised to "seriously consider [releasing] that pastor." "That pastor" was Jin Mingri. According to VOA's Chinese website, Jin Tingya stated in an interview on the 19th that Zion Church is still operating, and she is grateful that many people are willing to make sacrifices for their faith, which has made her feel the power of true faith. Jin Tingya said, "Actually, since eighteen of our pastors and co-workers were imprisoned, our Zion Church has continued to gather. We have a temporary senior pastor who is in the United States, and he can start live broadcasts from the U.S. every Sunday, and we continue to have this model of online and offline worship." The Wall Street Journal previously disclosed that Chinese authorities launched a crackdown in October of last year, arresting nearly 20 people connected to Zion Church, including Jin Mingri. Founded in 2007, Zion Church is an unregistered house church whose influence extends to over 40 cities in China, with its main Sunday service attracting up to 5,000 participants. In 2019, Zion Church's main sanctuary in Beijing was forcibly shut down, and Jin Mingri was placed under an exit ban, preventing him from leaving China to reunite with his family. According to VOA, Jin Mingri holds a doctoral degree in theology from the United States. He, his wife Liu Anna, and their three children are U.S. citizens. The Chinese government requires religious groups to be registered, emphasizing loyalty to the state and the Party. Officially approved Christian churches are called "Three-Self Churches," referring to "self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation." Other unofficial religious groups can only conduct their activities underground and are known as house churches or underground churches. The report states that Jin Mingri has long been a leading figure in the house church movement, attempting to preach outside the officially controlled church system strictly regulated by the Chinese government. In recent years, Jin increasingly moved his missionary activities online, reaching a larger audience but also drawing increasingly severe scrutiny from government departments, which ultimately led to his arrest.