Authorities in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, demolished the
Protestant Yazhong Church on May 19. Reports say excavators razed the
multi-level building in less than 72 hours.
Yazhong Church was an
unregistered Protestant congregation in Yayang Town. According to
ChinaAid, the church had been under pressure since June 2025, when local
officials demanded the installation of a Chinese national flag inside
the "sanctuary".
In December 2025, large numbers of special
police and riot-control forces carried out operations at 12 church
gathering sites in Yayang Town. More than 100 believers were reportedly
detained briefly.
22 believers, including church leaders Lin
Enzhao and Lin Enci, remain in detention on charges of “picking quarrels
and provoking trouble.”
Before the demolition, security
checkpoints were set up around the church, nearby residents were
evacuated, and access to the site was restricted.
Wenzhou is widely known as “China’s Jerusalem” because of its large Christian population.
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