Wang Lin (王林)
Pastor Wang Lin (王林), also known as Franklin Wang, is a pastor of Beijing Zion Church and president of Zion Bible Seminary. He has been detained in Beihai, Guangxi, since October 9, 2025, in the crackdown on Zion Church known as the 10·9 case.
Before entering full-time ministry, Wang practiced law. ChinaAid reports that he later earned a Ph.D. in Old Testament theology from Wheaton College and returned to China in 2017 to co-lead Zion Church.
According to his wife, Su Ziming, the family experienced months of pressure before his arrest, including disruption of their children’s schooling and repeated moves. On October 9, 2025, Wang was detained at Shenzhen Bao’an Airport and later transferred to Beihai. These arrest and family-history details are based on family testimony reported by ChinaAid and Fortify Rights.
Authorities initially accused Zion Church detainees of illegally using information networks. Later reporting describes fraud and illegal-business-operations charges connected to church offerings and online religious training. These are prosecution allegations, not findings of guilt.
Current reporting reviewed at publication indicates that Wang remains detained with seven other Zion Church leaders. ChinaAid reported on September 3, 2026 that a planned August 14–18 trial had been delayed after defense lawyers objected that they lacked sufficient time to review case files. Fortify Rights reported on September 21 that the eight leaders remained detained awaiting trial. No verdict or sentence is asserted here.
Family members and rights organizations have reported poor detention conditions and concerns about Wang’s health; these accounts are attributed to those sources and are not presented here as independently verified findings.
Sources and documentation
This profile draws principally on Fortify Rights, the Human Rights Foundation, and ChinaAid, with allegations and family testimony identified as such. → Media and Documentation Archive