A pastor of Beijing Zion Church detained in southern China says a prosecutor invoked his young children in an effort to press him into a confession, according to a letter from detention made public by the U.S.-based religious-freedom group ChinaAid.
Pastor Liu Zhenbin wrote that a prosecutor in Beihai, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, warned him to think about his children while pursuing a confession. The prosecutor told him, “Your children are still very young. You need to consider them,” ChinaAid said, citing the letter. Liu said the remark left him deeply pained because he wants to see his children grow up. He and his wife are raising three young children.
Liu is one of eight Zion Church leaders and workers who remain in custody following a nationwide crackdown on the unregistered church that began on October 9, 2025. Officers took Liu from his Qingdao residence two days later and seized his belongings, according to church supporters. Investigators later replaced the initial charge of illegally using information networks with the heavier charges of illegal business operations and fraud.
Liu also wrote that the charges against him were designed to intimidate the house-church movement across China, deter others from entering pastoral ministry, and pressure detained church leaders to give up under threat of prosecution.
His relatives say detention officials have limited his mail privileges, blocking letters, photos, and books they have tried to send him.
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Sources:
- Christian Post (August 1, 2026) — https://www.christianpost.com/news/detained-chinese-pastor-says-children-used-in-confession-attempt.html
- Christianity Daily — https://www.christianitydaily.com/news/chinese-pastor-says-prosecutor-cited-his-children-to-pressure.html