Over 400 Christians Detained in Shanxi as China Marks CCP’s 100th Anniversary

On June 15, 2021, Shanxi authorities launched a coordinated crackdown on members of The Church of Almighty God (CAG). 403 CAG believers had been detained by June 26. According to an insider from the public security system, the arrest operation was expected to continue through the end of July.

According to CAG’s incomplete tally, Christians from 20 cities and counties were taken into custody during the operation. Among them, 124 were detained in Changzhi, 96 in Linfen, 83 in Lüliang, 67 in Jinzhong, and 33 in Datong. Most of these detentions occurred during the coordinated crackdown on June 15.
A Shanxi official confirmed the arrest operation was part of a “stability maintenance campaign” for the CCP’s 100th anniversary on July 1. The official disclosed, “The provincial public security department had already issued the directive two weeks in advance. They made it clear that no one else should be arrested during that time because the detention centers were reserved for believers in Almighty God. Over 300,000 believers are targeted for arrest nationwide.”
Ahead of major holidays or political events, the CCP authorities routinely detain dissidents and religious believers under the pretext of “maintaining stability”, often shutting down or banning house church gatherings. A 2021 document issued by a county-level National Security Office instructed authorities to step up surveillance of key CAG individuals during the July 1 period and to “crack down harshly on The Church of Almighty God.”
Around 8:30 p.m. on June 15, six police officers broke into the home of an elderly CAG member in her 70s in Lüliang. They forcibly seized over 80,000 RMB (approximately $12,500 USD) in savings, an electric bicycle worth 2,000 RMB, and even took the small amount of cash she was carrying.
That same evening, Changzhi police, seeking to arrest a Christian surnamed Chen, lured his son at school into leading them home, where they detained Chen and ransacked his residence for six hours, confiscating six computers, hard drives, TF cards, mobile phones, and all other electronic devices. The police told Chen’s wife they had been under surveillance for nine months.
Around 9:00 p.m. on June 16 in Linfen City, about seven helmeted police officers armed with rifles, broke into a Christian’s home. When the Christian resisted, police struck him with handcuffs, causing a head injury.
During the CCP’s anniversary period, nearly 30 CAG members in Beijing and Tianjin were also detained. A source stated, “Now, with the Party’s 100th anniversary underway, higher authorities have issued a red-letter directive for a 40-day intensive campaign. Personnel from all government agencies have been deployed to stand guard.”