Over the weekend, Chinese police detained dozens of pastors from one of the country’s largest underground churches, marking the biggest crackdown on Christians since 2018, according to a church spokesperson and relatives.

The detentions, which come amid renewed China-US tensions after Beijing dramatically expanded rare earth export controls last week, drew condemnation from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who called on Sunday for the pastors’ immediate release.

‘New Wave Of Religious Persecution’

Pastor Jin Mingri, the founder of Zion Church, an unofficial “house church” not sanctioned by the government, was detained at his home in the southern city of Beihai on Friday evening, said his daughter, Grace Jin, and a church spokesperson, Sean Long.

“What just happened is part of a new

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