The resolution, passed May 13, named Protestant pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Uyghur physician Gulshan Abbas, and Hong Kong media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai — all currently imprisoned by Chinese authorities.
Jin Mingri's case has drawn particular attention. Bill Drexel of the Hudson Institute, who is also the pastor's son-in-law, told Polish Press Agency (PAP) that Zion Church — the congregation Jin led — neither pushes for political change nor criticizes the government, making his October arrest for "Christian activities" all the more telling.
"Mingri and Zion Church only want to worship God independently of the state. The imprisonment of the pastor shows that the ruling Chinese Communist Party is moving ever faster toward totalitarianism", Drexel said.
He argued that Chinese repression of Christians stems primarily from the authorities' refusal to recognize any moral authority outside the state, and that the crackdown is linked to President Xi Jinping's consolidation of power. Despite the pressure, Drexel noted, underground Protestant congregations independent of the state attract far more worshippers than officially sanctioned churches.
A more cautious assessment came from Dr. Marek Tylkowski, a sinologist at the Catholic University of Lublin, who warned against overstating the situation. "It is neither as good as the Chinese government would like to present it, nor as tragic as Western media would have it", he said.
Tylkowski described current CCP policy as one of tolerance combined with control, falling well short of Mao-era attempts to eradicate religion entirely. He noted that enforcement varies significantly by locality and that many communities find ways to navigate — or quietly circumvent — state restrictions.
China's officially registered Christian population stands at 44 million, including 6 million Catholics and 38 million Protestants, in a country of 1.4 billion. Estimates that account for underground churches put the real figure as high as 160 million, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, with projections suggesting the number could reach 247 million by 2030.
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Source: PAP