China's campaign against underground Christian churches has entered a more aggressive phase. Rights groups say the crackdown now extends beyond pastors and church buildings to children attending services, lawyers representing detained Christians, and online worshippers, as President Xi Jinping's government tightens control over religious life under its long-running 'Sinicisation' campaign.
The latest concerns stem from documentation by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which say authorities are broadening enforcement against unregistered 'house churches' across China. Police raids, surveillance and legal restrictions have intensified, while regulations introduced over the past year have sharply limited online preaching and religious education. The measures have drawn renewed international criticism over freedom of religion in the world's second-largest economy.
