The communist leadership in the People’s Republic of China is currently cracking down on the internationally renowned Calvinist house church “Early Rain Bund” in the city of Chengdu (Sichuan Province).

On January 6, 2026, several raids and seizures took place. Members, including church elders, as well as staff members were arrested; a total of eight people were taken into custody, one of whom has since been released. According to the organization China Aid, church elder Li Yingqiang and a member known as Brother Lin are accused of “incitement to subversion of state power,” a legal provision frequently used in the persecution of dissidents. Li Yingqiang’s wife, Zhang Xinyue, is also in custody; however, her whereabouts are unknown. Other members from several groups within the community have been summoned for questioning and pressured to leave their church. On January 14, the district police of Qingyang (in the Chengdu region) interrupted a Bible study held by two groups from the house church and recorded the personal details of those present; some participants were pressured with warnings and threats.

By December 9, 2018, more than 100 members of this house church had already been arrested, including its founder, Pastor Wang Yi, who was subsequently featured by ISHR and IDEA as “Prisoner of the Month” for February 2019. He was later sentenced to nine years in prison.