A pastor at a Beijing underground church has been arrested, his wife says
Xianfeng Edward Cui, a pastor at an underground church in Beijing, was arrested on October 23 on charges of fraud, according to his wife Jin Young Gu.
A Beijing house church pastor, Xianfeng Edward Cui, was arrested on October 23, according to his wife, Jin Young Gu. The arrest occurred as China increases its crackdown on unregistered churches. Gu reported the charges against her husband as fraud. The church is unregistered, which may be related to the allegations.
Jin Young Gu stated that her husband was initially detained on September 4 during a raid involving around 100 police officers. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not respond to questions about the arrest. Authorities had previously warned the church about its size and organization, Gu said. The church was founded in 2006 and had grown significantly.
The arrest of Pastor Xianfeng Edward Cui is part of a larger campaign by Chinese President Xi Jinping to control religion. In 2025, authorities arrested 30 leaders of Zion Church, another large underground church network. The Chinese government has been tightening its grip on religious groups, ensuring they abide by Communist Party rules and regulations.
Wire Provenance & Verification
Editorial brief compiled from certified Associated Press wire reporting via Newsmotion News Desk.
