The Chinese Communist Party has taken another brutal step in its war on faith, with authorities formally arresting 18 leaders of the underground Beijing Zion Church in a sweeping October operation that stunned religious freedom advocates. These pastors — long targeted for leading an independent Christian congregation that refused to submit to Party control — now face criminal prosecution under vague internet laws that the regime uses to silence dissent.
Among those detained is Pastor Wang Lin, whose family has been terrorized by repeated harassment, forced moves, and the grim reality that his American wife and children were prevented from leaving China and denied stable schooling and housing. Reports say his wife was stopped at the border when trying to flee and that the children, though U.S. citizens, have been effectively held hostage by Beijing’s tactics.
The ostensible charge against these spiritual leaders is “illegally using information networks” — a catch-all criminal label Beijing rolled out alongside new regulations to ban unauthorized online preaching and choke off independent religious expression. What the statute really does is criminalize pastoral care and public prayer when it happens outside Party-approved channels, turning pastors into political prisoners for doing what Christians have done for two millennia.
ChinaAid and its president, Bob Fu, have urgently appealed to U.S. leaders to step in, calling on President Trump and other officials to apply decisive pressure on Xi Jinping to secure the release and safe exit of the American children and family members caught in this nightmare. Washington cannot content itself with mild statements; when Beijing targets U.S. citizens and their families it becomes a matter of national dignity and responsibility.
Let there be no mistake: this is not a domestic matter for China alone — it is a direct assault on the universal right to worship and a test of American resolve. Conservative Americans should demand targeted sanctions on the officials responsible, visa bans, and public designation of these detentions as part of a pattern of persecution that violates every principle we claim to defend. China’s rulers must learn that persecuting Christians and detaining Americans carries real consequences.
The human toll is sickening and utterly preventable. Hardworking American taxpayers and parents should be outraged that children with U.S. passports can be blocked from leaving, denied schooling, and used as leverage in Beijing’s campaign to stamp out independent faith communities. Our government must treat this like the emergency it is: secure consular access, demand immediate release, and make clear that continued abuse will cost China economically and diplomatically.
If the United States soft-pedals or looks away, Xi will take that as permission to keep reaching into the lives of ordinary believers and American families. We are a nation rooted in liberty and the free exercise of religion; defending persecuted Christians abroad is not optional politics, it is a moral obligation and a strategic necessity. President Trump and every patriotic leader in Washington should answer the call from ChinaAid and the families involved — act boldly now, or watch tyranny grow bolder still.
