Leaders of Early Rain Covenant Church have been arrested and Yayang Church is being torn down, groups say.
Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationWatch DocumentariesTechnologyScienceArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindHealthWatch DocumentariesCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthWatch DocumentariesNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroDiscover the WorldLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveInfluential China church reports arrests as crackdown on Christians intensifies4 hours agoShareSaveKelly NgShareSaveWatch: Video appears to show part of Yayang Church being taken downAn influential Protestant church in China says prominent leaders were arrested in what appears to be a growing crackdown on the underground church movement.
Nine people were detained on Tuesday after police raided their homes and the church office in Chengdu, the Early Rain Covenant Church said. Five of them had been released by Wednesday.
More than 1,000 miles away in Wenzhou, authorities began demolishing the Yayang Church building, as seen in video obtained by the non-profit ChinaAid, which monitors religious persecution.
This latest wave of arrests, after others last year, shows the Communist Party's resolve to snuff out churches that do not align with its ideology, Christian groups say.
The BBC has contacted China's embassy in the UK for comment. Authorities have not made any statements about the arrests, or the demolition in Wenzhou.
China promotes atheism and controls religion. The government said in 2018 there are 44 million Christians in the country, but it's unclear if that number includes those who attend the many underground churches.
The Party has long pressured Christians to join only state-sanctioned churches led by government-approved pastors.
But Christian groups say the grip has tightened noticeably, with arrests becoming more common and prompt. At least two church leaders in China have told the BBC that authorities are swiftly arresting unauthorised church leaders, while in the past, these individuals would first be warned, then fined and finally detained if they still refuse to comply with orders.
Just weeks ago, Li Yingqiang, the current leader of Early Rain Covenant Church, had said he "sensed a storm gathering" and referred to "the imminent prospect of... another large-scale crackdown".
"I dearly hope that none of our families shall ever again endure such a storm. Yet as an elder appointed by the Lord to stand among you... it is my duty to remind you all to prepare yourselves before the storm returns," he wrote in a letter to church members in November.
Li and his wife