Peaceful Worship Treated as Crime in China

Human rights group: Taiwanese Family Federation believer sentenced in Xiamen under China’s “cult” law after organizing private worship services

In an article published on 8th January 2026, China Aid, an international Christian human rights organization focused on religious freedom and the rule of law in China, reported on the sentencing of a Taiwanese Family Federation believer in the large coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian Province. The case illustrates the continuing use of Communist China’s criminal law to penalize unregistered religious activity and highlights the increasing risks faced by foreign and Taiwanese nationals engaged in faith-based activities on the mainland.

See also China’s New Crackdown: War on Foreign Christians

See also State Coercion Justified by Invoking Religion

According to China Aid, a married couple from Taiwan ‒ Chang Pi-hsien and Lu Chia-chen ‒ were subjected to criminal prosecution for their involvement with the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church). While Chang Pi-hsien was released on bail pending trial in February 2025, his wife, Lu Chia-chen, has since been sentenced to one year and six months’ imprisonment by the Siming District People’s Court in Xiamen. Her sentence runs until July 12, 2026.

Publicly available information indicates that Lu Chia-chen first traveled to Xiamen in 2006 for employment and subsequently became a long-term resident. Beginning in 2018, she assumed a leadership role within the local Family Federation community. In this capacity, she regularly organized small religious gatherings in private homes, where participants engaged in prayer, hymn singing, study of texts of the religious organization, and the listening of sermons. These activities were conducted discreetly and, according to reports, had not previously been the subject of explicit warnings or prohibitions from local authorities.

On 12^th January 2025, police interrupted one such gathering and took Lu Chia-chen away for investigation. Several other attendees were also questioned, and the following day public security authorities issued formal detention notices. Multiple mainland Chinese participants were subsequently placed under detention. The sudden enforcement action marked a turning point, transforming what had been long-standing private religious meetings into a criminal case.

Chinese authorities accused both Lu Chia-chen and her husband of violating Article 300 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, commonly described as the offense of “using a cult organization to undermine the implementation of the law”. This provision is one of the most frequently invoked legal tools in cases involving religious groups deemed undesirable by the state. In practice, the charge does not require evidence that the accused actually obstructed specific laws or legal processes. Instead, once an organization is officially labeled a “cult” by the government, participation in or organization of its activities can itself be treated as sufficient grounds for criminal liability.

The Family Federation was placed on China’s official list of “cult organizations” in 1997. For years, the Federation operated quietly in several Chinese cities, often avoiding public visibility. Its designation as a cult, however, has meant that any religious activity associated with it is vulnerable to prosecution under Article 300, regardless of whether such activity is peaceful or private.

China Aid notes that this case is not an isolated incident. In recent years, authorities have intensified enforcement actions against members of various Christian, Buddhist, and other religious groups under similar charges, contributing to a steadily shrinking space for religious expression. The report also references separate incidents involving Taiwanese members of I-Kuan Tao, an indigenous religious movement, who were detained in Guangdong on suspicion of “organizing and using secret societies to undermine law enforcement”.

Together, these cases underscore broader concerns about the expansive and ambiguous application of criminal law in matters of belief, particularly where foreign or cross-strait religious connections are involved. From the perspective of human rights advocates, the prosecution of Lu Chia-chen exemplifies how legal mechanisms designed to protect public order are increasingly used to suppress peaceful religious practice, raising serious questions about religious freedom and legal proportionality in contemporary Communist China.

According to its website, ChinaAid has for 20 years “worked to expose human rights abuses and promote truth, justice and freedom by advocating for religious freedom”. The organization was founded by Bob (Xiqiu) Fu who was a student leader during the famous Tiananmen Square massacre in June 1989 when according to Red Cross figures more than 2,000 democracy activists were killed by the Communist regime. For the last 20 years, ChinaAid has been based in Midland, Texas, USA.

See also China’s New Crackdown: War on Foreign Christians

See also State Coercion Justified by Invoking Religion

See also Continuation of Trial: Who Was Really in Charge?

Text: Knut Holdhus, editor

Featured image above: Lu Chia-chen (left) and Chang Pi-hsien. Photo: Private  

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