The founder of Beijing Jiaquan Church was arrested and his wife called the charges “fraud.”

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) Cui Xianfeng (holy name Zhou Zixun) founded Beijing Jiaquan Church. His wife, Jin Young Gu, a Korean Christian, said that Cui Xianfeng was arrested on October 23 on charges of fraud.

Cui Jinrong said that Cui Xianfeng had been detained on September 4. At that time, about 100 police officers raided the church.

She said the alleged fraud charges were related to donations from church members. She believes such accusations are likely related to the church being unregistered.

The Associated Press sought comment from the Beijing Shijingshan District police, but did not receive a response. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet responded to related inquiries from The Associated Press.

The arrest is the latest in President Xi Jinping's long-running campaign to tighten religious controls. The Chinese authorities have been working to strengthen control over religious groups to ensure that all religious organizations comply with the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

In October 2025, the Chinese authorities launched one of the largest crackdowns on religious activities in recent years, arresting 30 leaders of the Zion Church after overnight raids in multiple cities. Zion Church is the largest underground Christian church in China.

Among those arrested was church founder Kim Ming-ri. In July this year, Kim was released tomorrow after U.S. President Trump personally made a request to Xi Jinping during his visit to China.

Authorities warn of 'excessive scale'

Cui Jinrong said that Beijing Jiaquan Church was established in 2006. As an unregistered church body, its size has since grown. Over the past two decades, the church has faced repeated interference from the authorities and its worship spaces have been blocked several times.

She said that in 2019, authorities closed the church's gathering place in Beijing, forcing believers to switch to small groups and hold smaller gatherings in different locations.

Cui Jinrong also said that in 2023, the authorities interrupted a Sunday church class and warned her and Cui Xianfeng that the church had become too large.

“They told him that he could only lead a church with less than 100 people,” Cui Jinrong said. “This is a direct warning from the authorities regarding the size and organization of our church.”

Choi Jinyoung is a South Korean citizen. She said that since 2023, authorities have refused to issue her a visa, preventing her from returning to China as a family member.