Dissident Artist Gao Zhen Denied Bail Again as Trial Is Delayed for Second Time
Artist Gao Zhen (高兟), half of the dissident artist duo known as the Gao Brothers, has again been denied bail, according to his lawyers. The defense had requested a change in coercive measures prior to trial, citing Gao’s deteriorating health. The Sanhe People’s Court in Hebei Province issued its decision on December 14, 2025.
At around the same time, the court informed Gao’s lawyers that his trial has been postponed for a second time, with a new date set for March 10, 2026. The trial was originally scheduled to begin in September 2025.
Gao, a U.S. permanent resident, returned to China in 2024 with his wife and young son. He was detained on August 26 at his art studio in Beijing. On June 10, 2025, the Sanhe People’s Procuratorate formally indicted him on the charge of “infringing upon the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs,” and recommended a sentence of three years’ imprisonment, the maximum penalty under the law.
Now nearly 70 years old and in poor health, Gao will have spent more than 18 months in detention by the time his trial begins.
His wife and son are also under exit bans and unable to return to the US.
Members of Lifeng house church begin serving sentences
Li Shuanping (李双平), a co-worker of the Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen, Shanxi, was sentenced on 20 June 2025 to nine years and two months in prison and fined RMB 100,000 on charges of “fraud.” Authorities accused church leaders of fraudulently collecting offerings, a claim rejected by supporters who say the donations were voluntary and that the prosecution targets the church’s refusal to join state-sanctioned religious bodies. Li has been detained since August 22, 2021, and his sentence is set to run until October 2030.
Li and his family have faced repeated persecution for their faith, including earlier detention in 2009. During his current incarceration, courts denied multiple bail requests, including a request to attend his elderly mother’s funeral. Rights groups view Li’s case as part of a broader crackdown on large independent house churches in China, particularly the Golden Lampstand Church, whose members have received unusually harsh sentences.
Yunnan House-Church Leader Sentenced for “Organizing Illegal Gatherings”
In December 2025, Bian Fuzhen (卞富珍), a house-church leader in Shuangbai County, Yunnan, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for “organizing illegal gatherings.” The court also ordered the confiscation of RMB 12,560 in church offerings. Bian and her husband led a small house church known as Lingshan Church. They and were detained in July 2025 after authorities accused them of holding unapproved religious meetings and online gatherings for about 20 people. While her husband was released on bail, Bian was formally arrested in September and held in Chuxiong.
Labor activist harassed, in association of Zion Church
On December 20, 2025, police in Beihai, Guangxi, carried out a surprise raid on the home of Cheng Yuan (程渊), a former human rights defender who completed a five-year prison sentence in 2024.
Officers criminally summoned Cheng on suspicion of “illegally disseminating online information,” searched his home and vehicle, and confiscated electronic devices, Christian books, personal theology notes, and his baptism certificate. He was interrogated for several hours about Zion Church and his relationship to the detained pastors before being released late that night.
While his phone and computer were returned, his religious materials remain confiscated, raising concerns about ongoing harassment and the targeting of private religious belief and study.
Cheng Yuan was one of the three founders of labor NGO Changsha Funeng (长沙富能), which promoted rights of lawyers and labors and organized trainings. Cheng was sentenced to five years for inciting subversion of state power, an endangering state security crime.
Crackdown of house churches continued in a town in Zhejiang
An unannounced fireworks display on December 15 in Yayang Town of Wenzhou inadvertently exposed a covert crackdown on a local house church. Local authorities initially claimed the fireworks were a spontaneous celebration by township residents to mark the “arrest of a criminal organization,” an explanation that puzzled many local residents and netizens.
The true reason later emerged through an official notice issued on December 13 by the Taichun County Police Bureau. The notice solicited public tips and reports on alleged criminal activities by two accused leaders of a criminal group, Lin Enzhao (林恩兆) and Lin Enci (林恩慈). However, both men are well known local leaders of a house church in Yayang Town. Lin Enzhao had previously led protests against the forced removal of church crosses in Zhejiang in 2014.
Members of the Banling Church reported hundreds of police officers, many deployed from outside the area, detained more than one hundred Christians on December 13th and 14th. Authorities framed the operation as a campaign against “black forces,” a term commonly used to refer to organized criminal groups.
At the time of this publication, both Lins are on the run and wanted.