Case profile: Sun Chao (孙超), Yunnan House-Church Preacher in Criminal Detention
This archive collects the published sources documenting the case of Sun Chao (孙超), the house-church preacher from Qujing, Yunnan, who was moved from administrative to criminal detention on August 7, 2026.
Key records:
- Rights Network / 权利运动, “遭刑事拘留的云南曲靖基督教教会传道人孙超的案情及简历” (August 30, 2026) — Full biographical account: born 1989; Qujing Fei La Tie Fei church preacher since 2015; wife Zhao Ying; two children; epilepsy requiring regular medication; prior detentions April 2024 (Kunming) and June 2025 (Qujing); administrative detention July 25, 2026, converted to criminal detention August 7 on suspicion of “organizing illegal gatherings”; held at Xuanwei City Detention Center. https://www.chinahrc.org/content/43091/
- Rights Network / 权利运动, “云南省宣威县基督教传道人孙超遭刑事拘留” (August 13, 2026) — First report of the case. https://www.chinahrc.org/content/42980/
- Minsheng Watch / 民生观察, “孙超传道被以’非法组织聚集罪’刑拘” (August 11, 2026) — Reports the detention sequence and publishes the substance of Zhao Ying’s August 8 appeal for prayers and for the detention center to ensure her husband can take his medicine on time. https://msguancha.com/a/lanmu4/2026/0811/25719.html
- InGrace / 对华援助新闻网, “中国云南地方当局拘留家庭教会传道人” (August 8, 2026) — Notes that local public security had made no public statement about the case details at the time of reporting. https://www.ingrace.cc/christian-news/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%91%E5%8D%97%E5%9C%B0%E6%96%B9%E5%BD%93%E5%B1%80%E6%8B%98%E7%95%99%E5%AE%B6%E5%BA%AD%E6%95%99%E4%BC%9A%E4%BC%A0%E9%81%93%E4%BA%BA/
- Rights Defense Network / 维权网, Issue 131 (August 31, 2026) — Lists Sun Chao among the six newly criminally detained / forcibly disappeared persons, with biography. https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2026/08/20268311311638.html
- Free China Movement news coverage (August 31, 2026) — “Yunnan House-Church Preacher Sun Chao Moved Into Criminal Detention as Medication Concerns Grow,” summarizing the above reporting with editorial analysis. https://freechina.live/china-news-updates/sun-chao-yunnan-house-church-criminal-detention/ (also published in Chinese, Spanish, French, and German editions)
Source notes and limitations: The charge is worded slightly differently across sources (“非法组织聚集罪” vs. “组织、资助非法聚集罪”); the Rights Network wording is used above. Whether detention authorities are maintaining his epilepsy medication is a family-expressed concern, not an independently confirmed fact. No official statement on the case has been located.