A watchdog group is urging international attention as Chinese authorities reportedly move to dismantle or destroy a major church in Wenzhou, China.
According to information shared with ChinaAid, hundreds of armed police were deployed Monday to surround Yayang Christian Church after authorities allegedly dispersed or detained local Christians and barred bystanders from filming events near the site.
Witnesses told the U.S.-based nonprofit that cranes, bulldozers, and other heavy machinery were positioned outside the church, creating what the group described as an “extremely tense” environment. While officials have not publicly stated their plans, observers fear authorities may remove the church’s prominent cross or demolish the building altogether.
“Believers are facing intimidation, isolation, and the imminent threat of violent enforcement. This unfolding siege represents a serious escalation in the CCP's systematic campaign of religious persecution under the policy of so-called 'Sinicization of religion,'” ChinaAid said in a press release, referencing the government’s effort to bring religious life under state control.
A photo shared Tuesday on X by ChinaAid founder Bob Fu appeared to show scaffolding erected around the church’s cross. Fu alleged that “part of the church building is being destroyed forcefully by the CCP [government].”
“The mobilization of hundreds of armed police and heavy demolition equipment against a peaceful Christian church is not law enforcement — it is state-sponsored religious persecution. Wenzhou, long known as 'China's Jerusalem,' is once again under siege,” Fu said in a statement.
“History has shown repeatedly that no regime can extinguish faith through force. If the world remains silent at this critical moment, it will only embolden the CCP to destroy more churches and trample fundamental human dignity,” he added.
ChinaAid’s appeal follows reports issued weeks earlier alleging that more than 1,000 police officers, SWAT personnel, and paramilitary forces conducted coordinated crackdowns on at least 12 Christian congregations in Yayang Town.
Local believers have resisted surveillance measures and demolition orders for more than a decade, dating back to a province-wide campaign in Zhejiang that began removing church crosses in 2014.
Tensions escalated further last month when local church leaders Lin Enzhao, 58, and Lin Enci, 54, were detained and accused of being “principal suspects of a criminal organization” charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
Residents reported that online communication and information related to the crackdown were quickly censored.
