Voices from inside the Beijing Jiaquan Church raid call for prayer and international attention after 100 police officers attacked it last month.
by Zeng Liqin
In the past few days, church members of Beijing Jiaquan Church have started to speak, and their testimonies offer a more detailed picture of what happened on 4 September 2026. The raid on the congregation’s twentieth‑anniversary celebration in Beijing is now described not only as a police operation, but as a coordinated attempt to dismantle a community that had survived two decades of pressure. Their accounts, shared with Christian networks and human‑rights contacts, give substance to what at first circulated only as brief alerts.
Korean missionary Choi Jin‑young, the wife of Pastor Choi Heon-bong, known in China as Zhou Zixun and a Chinese citizen, recently issued a public prayer letter. In her communication, she reports that on 4 September 2026 Beijing Jiaquan Church was attacked during preparations for its twentieth‑anniversary gathering, and that eight pastors and co‑workers, including her husband, are now under criminal detention on charges of “fraud.” The letter has circulated among churches and advocacy circles and has become a reference point for those trying to understand the case.
Choi explains that she and her husband studied in the United States and returned to Beijing at the end of 2005. In 2006 they founded Beijing Jiaquan Church, which gradually gathered a stable community of believers. Over twenty years, the church experienced several episodes of pressure, including the sealing of worship venues and visa problems that prevented Choi, as a foreign national married to a Chinese citizen, from entering China for several years. Her letter recalls these difficulties as part of the background of the present crisis.
Testimonies collected in recent days from church members confirm that the congregation had planned a special celebration for early September 2026. On the afternoon of 4 September, around fifty believers were in a hotel conference room in Beijing, arranging the space for the anniversary event scheduled for the following day. They describe a peaceful atmosphere, with volunteers preparing decorations and equipment, until police forces suddenly appeared. According to several accounts, more than one hundred officers, including plainclothes auxiliary police, surrounded the room and blocked exits.
Members report that most attendees were required to present identity cards and provide home addresses and telephone numbers. After registration, many were allowed to leave. Seven co‑workers, however, were taken away on the spot. Around the same time, state security officers summoned Pastor Zhou, who was outside visiting believers, to a police station. Church sources say that he did not return home and was later confirmed to be under detention.
In the following days, two of the co‑workers initially detained were released. The relief was short‑lived. Testimonies indicate that two other church workers were then arrested and transferred to a detention center on suspicion of “fraud.” The situation escalated further, and now Pastor Zhou and seven co‑workers are all held under criminal detention on the same charge. For the community, this feels like a collective blow: the entire pastoral team has been removed at once.
The accusation of “fraud” is familiar to observers of religious freedom in China. House churches and independent Christian communities have often seen their leaders charged with economic crimes, including alleged misuse of offerings or “illegal fundraising.” In many cases, believers insist that donations were voluntary and transparent, and that the criminal label is used to justify repression of religious activity outside state‑controlled structures.
Choi’s prayer letter, while written in a devotional tone, contains factual elements that match the testimonies now emerging. Church members now add details that help to understand the human dimension of the case. Some describe the fear of seeing the room surrounded by police, the confusion of being questioned about their faith and activities, and the anxiety of not knowing where their pastors were being taken. Others speak of the impact on families, including children who suddenly lost contact with fathers or mothers involved in church service. For them, the twentieth‑anniversary celebration, which was supposed to be a moment of gratitude, turned into a day of shock.
The testimonies also show how the raid fits into a pattern of pressure on independent Christian communities in Beijing. Believers recall previous closures of worship venues and surveillance of gatherings. They mention that the church had already been forced to move locations several times because landlords were pressured or threatened. The visa issue affecting Choi is seen as another instrument used to isolate the pastor’s family and weaken the leadership of the church.
Choi’s appeal is simple and direct. She asks pastors and believers who learn about them to “earnestly intercede” for Pastor Zhou and the seven detained co‑workers. The church members’ testimonies show a determination to keep meeting, praying, and sharing what happened. Through these voices, the events of that day are no longer just a brief report of a police action. They become the narrative of a community that refuses to disappear and asks the wider world to listen.
Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
