Media Profile & Archive — Zhang Di (张迪). This archive preserves the source basis, identification method, and evidentiary limits behind the Person Profile. See the full Person profile: Zhang Di (张迪).
Person profile
Zhang Di (张迪) — Henan church pastor; formally arrested with four Shuangmiao Christian Church leaders in June 2016 after the May 5, 2016 demolition of the church in Shangqiu; listed in the Issue 131 roster (August 31, 2026) in the Henan detained-without-trial (羁押未判) group. Profile covers: the 2016 demolition and arrests, the 2026 roster listing, the Chinese-character identification method, and the 2016–2026 reporting gap.
Identification method
Two independent source bases establish the identity. (1) The 2016 reporting names “Zhang Di” (no Chinese characters) as the pastor of a neighboring church among the five leaders formally arrested after the Shuangmiao demolition in Shangqiu, Henan (Gospel Herald, via China Aid). (2) The roster’s English edition lists “Zhang Di” in its Henan detained-without-trial group; the Chinese edition of the same report was read directly and gives 赵文静、黄金桔、吕月霞、郭春该、张迪、张小平、何方美、刘兴国、张维柱、陈利军、贾榀、李前伟、贾芹、张小玉、常卫云、胡卫明、孙治军、胡洋 — with 张迪 in the “Zhang Di” position (fifth), all 18 names aligning position-for-position with the English list. The 2016 co-arrestees 赵文静, 吕月霞, and 郭春该 appear together with 张迪 in the 2026 Henan group, corroborating that the two records describe the same person.
Source chronology
- May 5, 2016 — Demolition. Roughly 300 police officers and city inspectors demolished the under-construction Shuangmiao Christian Church in Shangqiu, Henan. Authorities called it an “illegal structure” and cited an unpaid 4,000-yuan annual “road usage fee”; church members said they had attempted negotiations beforehand. About 40 worshippers were detained; those who resisted were beaten. Police confiscated phones, laptops, jewelry, and cash, and smashed offering boxes. (Source: Gospel Herald, via China Aid; Christian Post, via China Aid — corroboration.)
- June 2016 — Formal arrests. After a month-long detention, five church leaders were formally arrested: Huang Xiangju, Zhao Wenjing, Guo Chungai, Lü Yuexia, and Zhang Di, identified as the pastor of a neighboring church. (Source: Gospel Herald, via China Aid.)
- August 31, 2026 — Issue 131 roster. Rights Defense Network / 维权网 lists 张迪 in its Henan detained-without-trial (羁押未判) regional group, alongside the same 2016 co-arrestees Zhao Wenjing, Lü Yuexia, and Guo Chungai. (Sources: Issue 131 Chinese and English editions.)
- 2016–2026 — Reporting gap. Bounded searches returned no indexed reporting on Zhang Di between the June 2016 arrest reports and the August 2026 roster listing.
Source grading
- Gospel Herald article (2016) — established international Christian media; underlying reporting attributed to the monitoring organization China Aid. VERIFIED by direct read: names Zhang Di as “the pastor of a neighboring church” among the five formally arrested; describes the demolition, detentions, confiscations, and the disputed road-fee justification.
- Christian Post article (June 2017 dateline, reporting the May 2016 events) — established international Christian media; underlying reporting attributed to China Aid. CORROBORATION (read by a prior researcher in this project; treated as corroborating, not independently relied upon). Note: the page carries a June 2017 dateline though it reports the May 2016 demolition — treat as republication.
- Issue 131 report (Chinese + English editions) — the roster source; the basis for the Chinese characters and the 2026 custody listing. VERIFIED by direct reading of both editions; 18-for-18 positional name alignment between editions.
- Negative search results (2016–2026) — bounded searches returned nothing; this establishes absence of indexed reporting, not absence of events.
Conflicts and caveats
- The Chinese characters 张迪 are positionally identified from the roster’s own Chinese edition; the 2016 reporting gives no Chinese characters. If a later source gives a different character form, the profile must be corrected.
- The 2016 co-arrestee “Huang Xiangju” is NOT the 2026 group member 黄金桔 / Huang Jinyu — different given-name characters; do not merge them.
- No source found bridges June 2016 and August 2026. The profile does not assert continuous detention across that decade; it records the documented 2016 arrest and the dated 2026 roster listing.
- The seventeen other Henan group members are different people in the same regional list and must not be merged into this record.
- The official justifications for the 2016 demolition (“illegal structure”; 4,000-yuan road fee) are recorded only as reported by China Aid and must stay attributed.
- The formal-arrest charges were not stated in the sources read.
Evidentiary limits
The evidence base is: one monitored 2016 event report (China Aid via two outlets), the 2026 roster listing in both editions, and an honest decade-long reporting gap. No detention notice, charge sheet, court record, or family account was located. The profile is published as an honest record carrying the verified Chinese name, the documented 2016 event, the dated 2026 listing, and the limits of what is known — not as a completed biography.