In recent years, the Chinese government has intensified its persecution of religious minority groups, reaching a new peak in 2024. The Ministry of Public Security of China has publicly celebrated its crackdown on groups labeled as xie jiao on social media and state-controlled platforms, labeling independent religious groups such as Christian house churches as threats. “Xie jiao” is translated by the Chinese government itself in its English-language documents as “evil cults,” but in fact is a label used since the Middle Ages meaning “organizations spreading heterodox teachings.”

According to an article published by the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China on February 13, 2025, Chinese security agencies “increased efforts in 2024 to dismantle xie jiao organizations,” claiming that they are “committed to curbing the development and spread of xie jiao organizations to reduce potential threats to national political security.” However, it is important to note that the term “xie jiao” (邪教) has no fixed definition in official discourse, and the government frequently uses it as a pretext to suppress any religious organizations that are not under state control.

In 2024, the Chinese government launched a large-scale crackdown on religious minority groups across the country, reaching an unprecedented scope and intensity.

1.Public security authorities nationwide organized over 56,000 anti-xie jiao activities, covering all provinces and cities, affecting more than 17 million people (Official announcement by the Ministry of Public Security of China)

2.Over 18 million netizens were mobilized to participate in the online campaign “Say No to Xie Jiao,” being forced to publicly declare their opposition to religious groups deemed “illegal” by the government (People’s Daily, December 2024 report).

3.At least 12,000 Christians were investigated, threatened, or detained by the government for participating in house church activities, with more than 1,000 individuals sentenced or sent to “re-education camps” (International Christian Concern 2024 Annual Report).

4. More than 2,000 house churches were shut down, and at least 500 churches and meeting places were demolished nationwide, including state-approved Three-Self churches. The Christian new religious movement Church of Almighty God suffered in 2024 from the CCP persecution more than in any other previous year (Church of Almighty God 2024 Annual Report).

5.The Chinese government uses facial recognition technology to monitor religious activities, with over 40,000 new surveillance cameras installed in 2024 specifically for monitoring churches, temples, and religious schools (Freedom House 2024 China Country Report).

6.Christian churches in mainland China have faced severe repression, with the government systematically suppressing Christian activities through demolitions, shutdowns, disruptions of gatherings, and arrests of believers. Across the country, numerous persecution incidents targeted house churches, Three-Self churches, and underground Catholic churches, involving demolition of churches, church closures, arrests of pastors and believers, obstruction of legal representation, enforced disappearances, restrictions on gospel outreach, and bans on minors participating in religious activities (ChinaAid 2023 Annual Report on Persecution of Christian Churches and Believers in Mainland China). According to the report, at least fifty Christian pastors and church leaders in mainland China were arrested, detained, or sentenced in 2023, with fifteen receiving prison terms of five years or more. A total of twenty criminal cases were filed against church leaders, ten of which involved charges of “fraud” or “illegal business operations,” indicating that the government is using economic crimes to suppress house churches. Additionally, at least five pastors suffered torture or mistreatment in prison, and three clergy members were forcibly disappeared, with some still missing. Furthermore, governments in at least five cities imposed heavy fines on churches, froze church bank accounts, and banned minors from participating in religious activities. These persecution tactics demonstrated that the Chinese government’s suppression of Christian churches was becoming increasingly systematic and legalized, posing a severe threat to religious freedom.

In 2024, the Chinese government continued its systematic persecution of Christians, particularly targeting unregistered “underground” churches, pastors, believers, and clergy members. The most heavily persecuted groups included house church leaders, as well as underground Catholic bishops and Catholics who refused to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA).

In the Hubei Suizhou Word of Life Church case, more than twenty pastors and church members were arrested, with nine formally indicted and four released on bail before trial. Prosecutors accused them of “spreading heresy,” with charges including organizing worship, church activities, and discipleship training.

On Christmas Day 2024,  at another Word of Life church in Nyingchi, Tibet, ten Christians were criminally charged for evangelizing, with three formally arrested and seven released on bail before trial.

According to a Hudson Institute report by Nina Shea, “Ten Persecuted Catholic Bishops in China,” the persecution of Catholic bishops and clergy who refuse to submit to government control remained severe in 2024. The report listed ten Catholic bishops who had faced persecution, including:

• Baoding Diocese, Hebei Province – Bishop James Su Zhimin: secretly detained since 1997 without any judicial process, his whereabouts and condition remain unknown.
• Wenzhou Diocese, Zhejiang Province – Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin: detained multiple times since 2016, secretly taken away by authorities again on January 2, 2024, and remains in custody.
• Xinxiang Diocese, Hebei Province – Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu: arrested in 2021 and has been held at an undisclosed location ever since.
• Shanghai Diocese – Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin: placed under house arrest since 2012 for refusing to join the state-controlled Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA).
• Zhengding Diocese, Hebei Province – Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo: taken into custody in August 2020 and remains under government surveillance.
• Mindong Diocese, Fujian Province – Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin: forced to resign his position for refusing to join the CPCA, disappeared from public view after 2020.
• Tianjin Diocese – Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen: under house arrest since 2007; despite being “formally recognized” by the government in 2024, his advanced age (95) prevents him from fulfilling his duties.
• Xuanhua Diocese, Hebei Province – Bishop Augustine Cui Tai: detained multiple times since 1993, last arrested in April 2021, and has been missing ever since.
• Shanghai Diocese – Bishop Joseph Xing Wenzhi: disappeared suddenly in 2011, with no official explanation.
• Hong Kong Diocese – Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun: arrested in 2022 by Hong Kong authorities on charges of “collusion with foreign forces,” released, remains under surveillance.

Shea’s report highlights that since the signing of the 2018 China-Vatican Agreement, the CCP has intensified its crackdown on underground Catholics, seeking to impose full control over all Catholic churches through the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA). For underground bishops who refuse to comply with government directives, authorities have resorted to detentions, house arrests, and forced disappearances.

Additionally, the CCP has been advancing its “Sinicization of Religion” policy, which includes:

• Banning minors from entering churches and strictly controlling religious education;
• Forcing clergy members to undergo political indoctrination, requiring them to promote socialist core values;
• Altering the Bible to align with Communist Party ideology;
• Preventing religious activities not sanctioned by the government.

In 2024, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) further intensified its persecution of Catholic dissidents, employing tactics such as arrests, house arrests, coercion, brainwashing, and forced incorporation into the Patriotic Church to suppress religious freedom. Underground churches, Catholic bishops, and homeschooling communities are all facing unprecedented pressure and persecution.

The label “xie jiao” is liberally used and extended to house churches and other groups not included in the known list of the xie jiao. According to the public notice issued by China’s Ministry of Public Security in October 2024, the government has implemented several measures to tighten control over religious activities including:

• Escalating crackdowns on house churches: raiding private homes, arresting believers, and even forcing them to sign apostasy statements.
• Advancing the “Spring Rain Project”: under the guise of “psychological counseling,” detained Christians are subjected to ideological reformation to renounce their faith.
• High-tech surveillance of religious beliefs: the government’s “Loyalty Scoring System” enables real-time monitoring of religious followers’ daily activities, with any sign of “disloyalty” leading to punishment.
• Complete censorship of religious dissemination: Christian books, sermon videos, and online preaching are all banned, and unregistered religious organizations are prohibited from spreading their faith via the internet.

In recent years, the United States and international human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned the Chinese government’s violations of religious freedom.

• July 2024: The U.S. State Department released its International Religious Freedom Report, once again designating China as a “Country of Particular Concern“ (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.
• December 2024: Christian leaders and faith organizations in the United States convened an International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C., urging the U.S. government to take stronger diplomatic actions to pressure China and ensure that religious communities’ fundamental rights are protected.
• ChinaAid and the Hudson Institute, among other human rights organizations, condemned the Chinese government’s systematic suppression of religious freedom and called on the international community to pressure Beijing to cease its crackdown on underground Catholic churches and release all detained clergy members.

Despite facing severe oppression, Christians in China have not abandoned their faith. Many house church believers choose to gather in secret and pass on their faith, even at the risk of imprisonment, torture, or death. As Matthew 16:18 declares: “I will build my church on this rock, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

As Christians in the United States, we cannot remain silent in the face of the suffering endured by our brothers and sisters in China. We call upon churches worldwide, religious freedom organizations, and human rights groups to continue monitoring the plight of Chinese Christians, pray for them, and raise a stronger voice in the international community to demand that the Chinese government respect fundamental human rights. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

Let us stand with Chinese believers, pray for them, and speak out for the truth!