Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest April 01-16
Catholics
15.04.2026 – Pressure on Catholics escalates
HRW – Chinese authorities are increasing pressure on underground Catholic communities to join the state-controlled official church, Human Rights Watch said today. In recent years, the Chinese government has tightened ideological control, surveillance, and travel restrictions on the country’s estimated 12 million Catholics.
Under President Xi Jinping’s “Sinicization” of religion campaign, which began a decade ago in April 2016, places of worship and religious teachings are expected to reflect Han-centric Chinese culture and Chinese Communist Party ideology.
The 2018 Provisional Agreement Regarding the Appointment of Bishops between the Holy See and China, which ended a decades-long dispute over the appointment of bishops in China, has facilitated repression of Catholics in China.
Buddhists
02.04.2026 – A blueprint for “Harmony”: Reading between the lines of Tibet’s new governance Gospel
Bitter Winter – When an article appears in the “Guangming Daily,” it deserves more than a casual glance. This is not an ordinary newspaper. It serves as the official daily for the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party, historically aimed at intellectuals, academics, and Party supporters. In other words, it is where the Party communicates with people who will later relay the Party’s message to others. When “Guangming Daily” publishes a lengthy essay by the Executive Vice President of the Party School of the Tibet Autonomous Region, it is not just filler. It sends a significant policy signal.
Protestants
15.04.2026 – Blogger exposes thousands of ‘abnormal deaths and disappearances’ over 11 years in Zhangmutou detention center
China Aid – A video recently revealing historical data about the Zhangmutou Detention Center in Dongguan, Guangdong, has sparked widespread shock on social media.
According to materials cited by the blogger, over 11 years, from 1992 to 2003, the facility processed a total of 830,000 detainees. However, within the vast volume of official archives, key figures concerning “abnormal deaths,” “escape-related disappearances,” and “human trafficking” remain conspicuously absent.
Based on historical context and conservative ratios, the blogger estimates that during these 11 years, between 800 and 4,000 individuals may have died inside the Zhangmutou facility due to abuse, starvation, illness, or beatings.
Meanwhile, those permanently missing, due to escape, trafficking, wrongful repatriation, or unidentified bodies, are estimated to range from 2,500 to 8,000. A consensus among the public suggests that the number of abnormal deaths and disappearances at the site reaches at least into the thousands.
04.04.2026 – Pretrial conference approaches as pastor and members face heavy sentencing recommendations
China Aid: After nine months of detention, the Shenyang “Sai Er Te Case”, which occurred in the summer of 2025, has entered a critical stage in legal proceedings. It is reported that a pretrial conference will be held on April 7, 2026. Today, the defendants’ families and fellow church members issued a public appeal, expressing deep concern over the case’s developments.
On June 28, 2025, multiple members of the Shenyang Sai Er Te Fellowship were suddenly taken away by police. Pastor Qu Hongbo, Shao Huaxuan, Wang Xiangchao, and Liu Xueyun were subsequently formally charged and detained on suspicion of “organizing and using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law.”
Falun Gong
16.04.2026 – Yunnan: Blind Falun Gong practitioner sentenced and “disappeared”
Bitter Winter – The case of Yang Xiaoming, a blind Falun Gong practitioner from Kunming, shows how far state repression can go when it views faith as a crime.
Her story covers three decades of persecution, including forced abortion, job loss, and torture that led to blindness. Yet even her blindness did not protect her from being seen as an enemy of the state.
In late March 2026, she vanished from her home in circumstances that friends describe as clearly coercive; an open door, a fallen chair, and scattered objects on the table painted a grim picture. For a woman who could not see, the message was chilling: even the most vulnerable are not safe from those who want to silence them.
16.04.2026 – 71-year-old Hebei woman faces trial for practicing Falun Gong
Minghui – A 71-year-old woman in Handan City, Hebei Province, is facing trial because she practices Falun Gong.
Ms. Li Sumei, born in May 1954, took up Falun Gong before the persecution started. She credits the practice for enabling her to recover from many ailments, including long term insomnia, chronic fatigue, and leg pain.
A group of officers from the Lianxi Police Station, including chief Hao Xiaochuan and deputy chief Li Congcong, went to Ms. Li’s home around 8 a.m. on September 30, 2025. They turned off the power to her house and arrested her husband, Mr. Han Shutang, when he walked outside to check on it. Several officers held him and snatched his key.
They raided the couple’s home and took them to the police station. No officer produced their ID, or a search or arrest warrant during the entire process.
13.04.2026 – Systematic torture and brainwashing of Falun Gong practitioners at Jiazhou Prison
Minghui – The Jiazhou Prison, formerly known as the Wumaping Prison, is located in Leshan City, Sichuan Province. It was merged with the Shawan Prison in August 2014. It is designated as the central location in the province to imprison male Falun Gong practitioners who were wrongfully sentenced for their faith.
The persecution of jailed practitioners is directed by the Sichuan Province Party Committee, the Sichuan Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee, the Sichuan Provincial 610 Office, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Justice, and the Sichuan Provincial Prison Administration Bureau.
10.04.2026 – Police forge woman’s medical records to keep her detained, fabricate evidence to get her indicted for her faith
Minghui – A woman in Huanren County, Liaoning Province, is facing trial for her faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Tong Xiaoyan, around 57, was arrested on September 26, 2025, after the Wunvshan Police Station instructed her landlord to deceive her into returning to her rental place by saying there was a water leak. She rushed back, only to be arrested. Her computer, printer, and Falun Gong informational materials were confiscated.
Xia Jiao
15.04.2026 – Create abundance and the vague science of spiritual persecution
Bitter Winter – Yuan Zhang was a banker at the height of her career in Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), when she began to unravel. Weighing over 100 kilograms and prone to violent outbursts that landed her in police stations, she was a woman with no language for what she was experiencing. She found that language in the Chinese body‑mind‑spirit movement founded by Zhang Xinyue on the basis of her book “Create Abundance.” Published in Mandarin in 2012, it spread through the country via wellness centres charging 365 yuan (i.e., 51–52 US dollars) a year in membership fees.
