Case Details and Biography of Jia Xuewei, Arrested Deputy Deacon of Sichuan Early Rain Covenant Church

On September 2, 2026, this website learned of the case details and biography of Jia Xuewei, the arrested deputy deacon of Sichuan Early Rain Covenant Church, which are hereby reported as follows:

Jia Xuewei: Born in 1975, a native of Henan Province, a Christian, formerly a foreign correspondent, columnist and freelance writer, and currently a deputy deacon and preacher at Early Rain Covenant Church, as well as a Chinese prisoner of conscience.

In his early years, he served as a reporter for China News Service and was dispatched to work in Europe; he also worked as a writer and published books, and paid long-term attention to social issues and public expression; later, because he and friends moved from Beijing to Chengdu to live, he joined Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church and took part in worship; during this period, because he felt called in his faith, he became a regular ministry worker at Early Rain Covenant Church; he was also elected deputy deacon, taking on the church's daily ministries of Bible study, visitation, counseling and pastoral care; however, beginning in 2018, because the church continuously faced high-pressure repression from the senior levels of the Chinese Communist Party, the church's worship gatherings were repeatedly dispersed, and pastoral staff were frequently summoned; he too was summoned and warned several times by Chengdu police for “organizing and participating in unauthorized religious activities,” and was ordered to stop religious activities, but he continued to perform his pastoral duties; on December 11, 2023, he was administratively detained for 15 days and held at the Chengdu Detention Center;

On October 6, 2025, while presiding over a Bible study gathering, he was again raided by police and taken away on the spot along with several others, and was criminally detained on suspicion of “illegally organizing religious activities”; after his release, on January 6, 2026, the authorities again took action against Early Rain Covenant Church, and he was arrested once more; after believers conducted inquiries through multiple channels, it was confirmed that he was criminally detained at the Deyang City Detention Center in Sichuan Province; subsequently, he was placed under residential surveillance at a designated location for six months on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power”; during his secret detention, his younger brother was threatened and pressured by police for publicly speaking out and appealing for help; on August 27, 2026, the Deyang public security and procuratorial authorities approved his arrest on suspicion of “organizing illegal gatherings”; the case is currently still in the investigation stage; meanwhile, Elder Li Yingqiang and preacher Dai Zhichao, who are co-defendants in the case and were originally charged with “inciting subversion of state power” and “organizing illegal gatherings,” are reportedly said to have had their cases returned for further investigation, but they remain in continuous detention. He is currently being held at the Deyang City Detention Center in Sichuan Province.