Update on the Case of Pastor Huang Yizi in the Fengwo Hall Christian Church Case in Shu tou Town, Pingyang County, Wenzhou: Pretrial Conference and Trial to Be Held Soon

On April 15, 2026, this outlet learned that the case of Pastor Huang Yizi in the Fengwo Hall Christian Church case in Shuitou Town, Pingyang County, Wenzhou, will have a pretrial conference at 9 a.m. on April 20, 2026; the trial will be held from 9 a.m. on April 24 through April 25 in Courtroom No. 8 of the Pingyang County Court.

Biography of Huang Yizi: Born on October 22, 1974, he is from Zhejiang Province, a resident of Fengwo Bay Village, Shuitou Town, Pingyang County, Wenzhou, a Christian, pastor of Fengwo Hall Church in Shuitou Town, Pingyang County, Wenzhou, and a Chinese prisoner of conscience.

He grew up in a Christian family and is the fourth-generation Christian in his family; influenced by Christian culture, he began following pastors in visiting and other ministry activities at the age of 14, later began preaching after feeling called at the age of 17, was ordained a pastor at the age of 28, and initiated China Shenzhou Seminary at the age of 30; as a result, through theological preparation and training, he gradually became a pastor widely respected by Christians in the Wenzhou region of Zhejiang; however, at the beginning of 2014, a large-scale campaign of forced demolition of church crosses launched by the Chinese Communist Party government of Zhejiang (with the Wenzhou region as a particularly prominent example)—also known as the “Cross Storm”—put Christian pastors such as him in the spotlight, where they faced the government’s systematic and ruthless suppression;

Because more than 400 church buildings or crosses were demolished by the Zhejiang authorities that year, and because he was one of the earliest pastors to dare to publicly oppose the government’s campaign of forced cross demolitions, he attracted widespread attention from Christians both inside and outside China; on July 21, 2014, a violent forced demolition took place at Salvation Church in his hometown of Pingyang County, where hundreds of believers protecting the church were attacked by several hundred police officers, ultimately leaving more than 100 people injured, with at least 10 people sent to hospital for treatment; afterward, because more than 100 of the injured believers or their family members gathered and lodged complaints at the Shuitou Town government, he was notified by someone and also went to the scene to negotiate with government personnel, while organizing people to sing hymns and pray to calm emotions; although he was subsequently summoned several times by the Pingyang County police for questioning, it was generally believed that he had no connection whatsoever with either the July 21 or July 24 incidents, as he was the pastor of Fengwo Hall Church in Shuitou Town; however, on August 1, he was again summoned by the Pingyang County police, and the following day was placed under criminal detention on suspicion of “the crime of gathering a crowd to storm state organs”; on August 28, the charge was changed, and the Pingyang County Procuratorate approved his arrest on suspicion of “the crime of gathering a crowd to disrupt social order,” accusing him of being the organizer who gathered believers to protest and cause trouble; his case was subsequently brought by the procuratorate and transferred to the local court for review; on March 24, 2015, he was sentenced to one year in prison by the Pingyang County Court of Wenzhou for “the crime of gathering a crowd to disrupt social order”; on August 1 of the same year, he was released after completing his sentence;

On September 12, 2015, he was again inexplicably arrested by the Pingyang County police on suspicion of “the crime of stealing, spying on, purchasing, or illegally providing state secrets or intelligence to foreign entities,” and was placed under residential surveillance at a designated location for nearly five months; after his release, his personal freedom continued to be severely restricted, and his online live-streamed preaching was also frequently disrupted by the authorities;

On June 26, 2025, he was again forcibly taken away from his home by the Pingyang County police, and his home was searched; he was subsequently placed under criminal detention on suspicion of “the crime of illegal business operations”; on the same day, four other Christian church members were also taken away, and all are currently under criminal detention on the same charge; it is learned that his current defense lawyer has met with him. He is currently being detained at the Wenzhou Pingyang County Detention Center (Pingt a Village, Kunyang Town, Pingyang County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, postal code: 325400).

This outlet will continue to follow developments in the case of Pastor Huang Yizi.