Bethel Church in Zhangjiajie: Pastor Zhao Huaiguo Under Continuous Harassment

His stubborn refusal to join the CCP-controlled Three Self Church led to years of persecution.

By Mo Yuan

May 13, 2025

A blurred image of Pastor Zhao Huaiguo posted on X.

At the beginning of May, the Bethel Church in Zhangjiajie, Cili County, Hunan, reported that its pastor, Zhao Huaiguo, and his wife are under continuous police surveillance and are harassed under various pretexts. The church is afraid that Pastor Zhao can be arrested again.

Zhao moved from Northeast China to Cili County, Hunan, in 2007. In the same year, he founded the Bethel Church, which elderly rural people primarily attend. Zhao resisted pressure to join the government-controlled Three Self Church and maintained his congregation’s independence.

In March 2019, Cili County Religious Affairs Bureau sent almost fifty officers from the Cili County Public Security Bureau and other departments to forcibly break into the Bethel Church, vandalize church supplies, dismantle religious symbols on the walls, and steal various items, including the Bible, hymn books, gospel leaflets, and pianos. 

Politicians inspect the Cili County Public Security Bureau. From Weibo.

On April 10, 2019, the Cili County Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs released a notification mandating the closure of the Bethel House Church. The notification indicated that, per the Regulations on Religious Affairs, Bethel Christian Church was deemed an unauthorized gathering place and consequently prohibited. It advised Bethel followers to hold their religious activities at the Three Self religious venues. 

On March 14, 2020, Pastor Zhao was abruptly detained by the police on allegations of “inciting subversion of state power.” Then, on April 2, 2020, he was formally arrested by the Cili County Procuratorate on the same charges. He was accused of utilizing a VPN to access foreign media reports on the COVID pandemic and sharing satirical poetry and other writings that mocked the government, an act deemed a significant threat to national security.

On October 13, 2020, his case for “inciting subversion of state power” was heard in the Zhangjiajie Intermediate People’s Court. He received a sentence of one year and six months in prison, which he served at the Cili County Detention Center. 

CCP bureaucrats visit the Cili County Detention Center. From Weibo.

He was released from prison in September 2021. Following his release, Pastor Zhao continued to feel worried and faced harassment from the Hunan police and the Religious Affairs Bureau. 

In November 2024, officials from the local government and the Religious Affairs Bureau entered Pastor Zhao’s residence and searched it. As a result, Pastor Zhao Huaiguo and his wife, Zhang Xinghong, were held for ten days due to her involvement in illegal online courses.

Believers now report being interrogated about their financial contributions to the Bethel Church. The pastor and his wife continue to face harassment.

Source: bitterwinter.org