China Detains 8 Underground Church Members Amid Intensified Crackdown

• Eight members of the Early Rain Covenant Church, including leader Li Yingqiang and his wife Zhang Xinyue, were detained in Sichuan province.
• The detentions are part of an intensified crackdown on unregistered religious groups under Beijing's tightening controls.
• Human Rights Watch reports this follows arrests of Zion Church members and another unofficial church in Zhejiang province.
• Authorities are targeting 'house churches' seen as disobedient to Communist Party ideology, with charges like 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble'.
• Despite crackdowns, scholars believe China's Christian community, particularly resilient house churches, will continue to grow.

Why It Matters: China intensifies crackdown on unregistered religious groups, detaining members of prominent house churches.