Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State. AP Yonhap News. 

Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, urged on the 12th (local time) for the immediate release of dozens of Christians, including unregistered house church pastors, detained by the Chinese government, and for the guarantee of freedom of worship.

In a statement released on the same day, Secretary Rubio stated, "The United States condemns the Chinese Communist Party's recent detention of dozens of leaders of 'Zion Church,' an unregistered house church in China, including the prominent pastor Jin Mingre." He added, "This crackdown further demonstrates how the Chinese Communist Party is hostile towards Christians who choose to worship in unregistered house churches, rejecting the Party's interference in faith."

Secretary Rubio further elaborated, "We urge the Chinese Communist Party to immediately release the detained church leaders and to allow all believers, including members of house churches, to participate in religious activities without fear of reprisal."

Recently, Chinese public security forces have been conducting a crackdown on 'Zion Church,' a network of house churches in China, leading to the detention of approximately 30 pastors and members. Pastor Jin Mingre, mentioned by Secretary Rubio, is of Korean-Chinese descent. After witnessing the violent suppression of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, he became a Christian, established a house church, and his growing congregation made him a person of interest to the authorities.

This stance from the U.S. Trump administration, which has strongly criticized religious freedom issues in China, comes at a time when relations between the two countries are tense due to China's export controls on rare earth elements and President Donald Trump's announcement of a 100% tariff increase on China.

Yonhap News