Amnesty International publishes interview with Su Ziming, wife of detained Zion Church pastor Wang Lin: charged with 'fraud' and 'illegal business operations', still detained

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Amnesty International Australia published on October 8, 2026 an interview titled 'China's crackdown on house churches: An interview with Su Ziming, wife of detained Chinese pastor Wang Lin'. It confirms that on October 9, 2025, Pastor Wang Lin was taken away by police in the crackdown on Zion Church — a 'house church', i.e. a Protestant church operating independently of the state-approved religious system and lacking official registration. In the months after Wang's arrest, his wife Su Ziming and their young son and daughter endured constant surveillance and harassment, restrictions on leaving China and prolonged family separation; today Su and the children live in the United States while her husband remains detained in China. [1]

On how her husband became a faith leader, Su says Wang was a lawyer before becoming a pastor; after becoming a Christian in 2006 he left the legal profession, entered seminary and spent several years in theological studies in the US; at the end of 2017 the couple returned to China and Wang became a faith leader at Beijing Zion Church — 'his greatest joy came from being with others'. After authorities shut Zion's venue in 2018, many members were driven out of Beijing through harassment (including coerced evictions and job threats) and the congregation scattered across the country; during the pandemic believers stayed connected through online services and the church gradually became a cross-province network rather than a single congregation. [1]

On the authorities' tactics, Su says that in the case against Zion Church, authorities accused church leaders of receiving 'fraudulent proceeds', treating believers' tithes and offerings as unlawfully obtained funds, while church training programmes and seminary courses were deemed 'illegal business activities' — her husband Wang Lin has been charged on both counts. She sees a broader recent trend: while some church leaders, like many human rights defenders, are prosecuted on national-security charges, authorities have increasingly used charges such as 'fraud' and 'illegal business operations' to target the normal operations and management of the institutions and communities themselves. The goal, she says, was never really about finances but about the faith communities themselves — 'to crush the church and make it disappear'. [1]

On the impact on family members, Su says the family had long lived under immense pressure even before her husband's arrest: repeated forced moves, evictions for no reason, blocked home purchases — 'wherever we went, it seemed like someone was watching' — and the children unable to get an education in China because of their father's work. In November 2025 she tried to leave with her two children and was stopped after entering Shanghai airport: security took her to an interview room, said she was under an exit ban, and refused to show legal documents until around 4am, when she copied down the restriction details, with the children watching their mother confront a room full of police officers. After sustained international attention and pressure, the authorities lifted the exit ban and the family left China. Even safe in the US, she says, the trauma remains: the children often ask, 'What if you get arrested too?' [1]

Su also explains why the families went public: other church cases over the years received little public attention, with reports that those detained then were abused; the families believe that when a case becomes internationally known, authorities often become more cautious in how they treat those in custody. Amnesty closes with a call to 'stand with Su and her family' and sign a petition urging the Chinese authorities to release Wang Lin and stop targeting faith leaders, their families and communities. [1]

Cross-check: the Christian Post reported on October 12 that since the October 2025 raids on Zion, 18 members were later formally arrested, with eight pastors and co-workers held in Beihai city in the southern Guangxi region on 'fraud' and 'illegal business operations' charges — matching the two charges Su says Wang faces. On October 9-10, 2025, police carried out arrests targeting Beijing Zion Church across several cities, taking Senior Pastor Jin Mingri and other pastors and co-workers; Jin was released on July 3, 2026 after 266 days in detention and arrived in the US, receiving the Lantos Human Rights Prize on October 9 (recorded by this site on October 9). [2][3]

Verification note: this record documents the verifiable public act — Amnesty International publishing the Su Ziming interview. The personal accounts in the interview (the airport stop, the surveillance and harassment) are Su's own testimony and have not been independently verified by this site; Wang's continued detention and the charges against him are corroborated by the Christian Post's independent reporting. This site will continue to follow the judicial progress of Wang Lin's case and the situation of the eight detained co-workers. [1][2]

[Update, October 30, 2026] ChinaAid reported on October 30 that Wang Lin, in an October 22 letter from Beihai's Second Detention Center, gave a firsthand account of detention conditions: 30 to 40 detainees sleep on a communal wooden platform measuring about 40 square meters, crowding into an exercise yard of about 30 square meters during the day; mosquitoes and other insects infest the sleeping area; meals consist mainly of boiled vegetables, with an egg each morning and soybeans twice weekly; and detainees with chronic illnesses including hypertension and diabetes struggle to receive timely treatment. He reports that a 36-year-old detainee died after suddenly becoming ill in October — ChinaAid notes it could not independently verify the reported death. Wang writes that the loudspeakers used for daily announcements at extremely high volume and in a commanding tone are more distressing than the physical conditions: 'if music can soothe our souls, these loudspeakers seem to tear my soul apart.' Fellow Zion Church members are detained only 100 to 200 meters away, he writes, yet in a year he has glimpsed them only occasionally while being taken for questioning. In closing he encourages Christians in China and abroad not to think they face their hardships alone. According to ChinaAid, Zion Church founder Pastor Ezra Jin was released in July 2026 after nine months in detention, while Wang and seven others remain in custody, with court proceedings postponed in August. [3]