Qingdao church-planting pastor of Zion Church Liu Zhenbin detained for more than nine months; family calls for attention to religious freedom and the right to correspondence

On July 20, 2026, this outlet learned that Liu Zhenbin, a church-planting pastor of Zion Church in Qingdao, has been detained for more than nine months, and that his family is calling for attention to religious freedom and the right to correspondence.

The following is the latest notice recently issued by Zion Church regarding Pastor Liu Zhenbin, who remains detained in the case:

Liu Zhenbin, a church-planting pastor of Beijing Zion Church in Qingdao, has been detained for more than nine months since he was taken away by police on October 11, 2025. He is currently being held at the Second Detention Center of Beihai City, Guangxi, and the case has been transferred to the procuratorial authorities for review and prosecution. His family said that Pastor Liu's right to correspondence remains strictly restricted, preventing him from receiving letters, photographs and books sent by his family, and expressed deep concern over interference faced by lawyers during the handling of the case.

Pastor Liu Zhenbin was born in 1987 in Xiangyang, Hubei, and grew up in a Christian family. He was baptized in 1992. During university, he reconsidered and reaffirmed his faith. From 2006 to 2013, he completed an integrated bachelor's and master's program at Taiyuan University of Technology and obtained a master's degree. He subsequently entered a seminary for training and completed theological studies from 2013 to 2015.

In 2017, Liu Zhenbin joined Beijing Zion Church in full-time ministry; in 2021, he was sent by the church to Qingdao, Shandong, to carry out church-planting ministry; in 2022, he was ordained as a pastor and continued pastoring local believers.

At approximately 7 a.m. on October 11, 2025, Pastor Liu Zhenbin was taken away by police from his residence in Qingdao, Shandong, in front of his wife and three young children. According to his family, the police handcuffed him behind his back and escorted him from the home, causing the family enormous distress.

Subsequently, Liu Zhenbin and several pastors and ministry workers from Beijing Zion Church were taken to Beihai, Guangxi, and placed under criminal coercive measures on suspicion of the crime of “illegal use of an information network.” His family said that the case involves a large number of people and is considered one of the largest concentrated arrest operations in the Chinese house-church sphere in recent years. It has therefore continued to draw attention from the international community, governments of various countries, human rights organisations and the media.

According to information provided by the family, Pastor Liu Zhenbin was criminally detained on October 11, 2025, by the Yinhai Branch of the Beihai Municipal Public Security Bureau. Subsequently, the case underwent multiple extensions of the period of investigative detention and was transferred to the procuratorial authorities for review and prosecution on June 18, 2026.

The family also reported that the lawyers' defence work faced significant interference during the handling of the case. One lawyer who had been retained was reportedly warned by the local judicial administration department and required to withdraw from the case; another lawyer was also summoned by relevant departments to discuss and learn about the circumstances of the case. The family believes that these circumstances affected the right to obtain legal representation in accordance with the law.

To date, Pastor Liu Zhenbin still cannot normally receive letters, photographs and spiritual books sent by his family, and his contact with the outside world remains strictly restricted. The family is deeply concerned and hopes that the relevant departments will protect, in accordance with the law, the lawful rights of detainees to correspondence, meetings and other matters.

Pastor Liu Zhenbin married in 2019. In addition to his elderly parents, he has three young children: his eldest son Wuqian, 6; his second child, daughter Song Song, 4 (who has Down syndrome); and his youngest son En En, 1. His father is currently 86 years old, and his mother is 81. Pastor Liu's prolonged absence has placed a heavy burden of emotional and practical hardship on his young children, wife and elderly parents.

The family calls on all sectors of society to continue following the progress of Pastor Liu Zhenbin's case and related cases, to care about the circumstances facing his family, and hopes that the case will be handled lawfully and fairly, with the legitimate rights and interests of those involved protected. At the same time, they also hope that society will continue to pay attention to religious freedom and the basic rights enjoyed by citizens in accordance with the law.