Repression unstopped after Kim’s release tomorrow: Eight members of the Church of Zion still detained in the North Sea

On August 20, the Chinese Commission of the U.S. Congress and Executive Authority (CECC) revealed that eight of the members of the Zion Church arrested in last year’s national crackdown were still detained at the First and Second Guard of the North Sea in Guangzhou, and the case had been transferred to the court.

Eight people listed by the CECC include Gao Ingia, Lin Shuang, Liu Zhengbin, Wang Zhong, Wang Li, Wang Li, Wu Qinghui and Yin Huangbin. In October 2025, China's police detained 30 members and heads of the Sion Church in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shandong, Sichuan, Henan and Guangxi, some of whom were initially accused of "illegal use of information networks."

Image: CECC's China Observatory's 7th edition of the case of political prisoners in the Church of Zion.

In June 2026, the authorities released some of the persons for seizure, while replacing the accusations of the rest of the detainees with “illegal operations” and “fraud”.In July, the North Sea District Prosecutor’s Office completed the review and transferred the case to the court.

Another focus of the case was the right of defence. The CECC said several lawyers in the cases of the Church of Zion were under administrative pressure, including Zhang Kai’s license was revoked and six other lawyers were suspended for six months. Families also reflect that the detainees faced extreme temperatures, malnutrition and lack of necessary medical services. These were by families and human rights agencies, and at the moment Chinese officials have not publicly responded to all the allegations.

Founded in 2007 by Kim, the Church of Zion has grown into one of the largest unregistered family churches in China.After the closure of meeting venues in Beijing in 2018 and the seizure of assets, the church continued to hold online and online gatherings, and network services rapidly expanded during the outbreak.

From the official logic of religious management, religious groups that are unregistered, cross-regional and can form an independent network of organizations over the Internet have long been regarded as a regulatory focus.CECC believes that the centralized strikes on the Church of Zion are linked to the authorities’ strengthening of the management of online religious activities.

After Kim was released, he said he would not stop speaking for the remaining detainees.Whether the next case will be publicly heard, whether lawyers will be able to regularly read and meet, and the health and detention conditions of the eight defendants will be important indicators for observing the situation in the Chinese Family Church.