Zion Church · Full chronicle and history

One year has passed since the Beijing Zion Church "October 9" church case; eight pastors and church workers, accused of fraud and illegal business operation, are detained in Beihai, Guangxi, and the case has been transferred to the court awaiting trial.

The Zion Church announced that, as the trial approaches, justice administration departments in multiple regions have been pressuring defense lawyers and their firms, and 4 of the original 16 defense lawyers have formally withdrawn under the pressure.

On September 3, 2026, the Associated Press reported that Wang Xiahong, a partner at Beijing's Kaimen Law Firm, fled to Taiwan under the pressure of official orders to dissolve the firm after taking on the Zion Church case, and is seeking resettlement assistance.

In July 2026, Kim Myeong-il, a pastor of Beijing Zion Church, was released and arrived in the United States after high-level China-US negotiations, but eight other pastors and believers from the church, including Wang Lin, remain criminally detained on charges of illegally using information networks and face judicial prosecution.

Jin Mingri, a Beijing house church figure and founder of Zion Church, has been released after years of detention and flown to the United States by a chartered flight from Beijing.

On July 1, 2026, Chinese Human Rights Defenders released a report disclosing that authorities in Beihai, Guangxi seriously infringed on the right to defense in the prosecution of the Beijing Zion Church case, obstructed lawyers' access to case files, and that pastoral staff such as Wang Lin and Wu Qiuyu face prolonged detention and harsh detention conditions.