Families say Zion 8 face overcrowding and poor care in Beihai as trial is delayed

ChinaAid reported on September 10, 2026, that relatives of eight detained Beijing Zion Church workers — often called the Zion 8 — say rooms at Beihai’s First and Second Detention Centers in Guangxi are overcrowded and that food and medical care are inadequate. Released detainees and family members described about 36 people sleeping on a communal platform in a room of about 40 square meters, with poor screening of windows, limited meals of boiled vegetables and soybeans, and delayed or denied medicine, ChinaAid said. Lin Wenyu, mother of detained Pastor Wang Lin, said in an August 29 video that her son lost about 15 kilograms between his October arrest and a June physical exam. Human-rights activist Shiming Lei summarized similar weight-loss claims on X. Sister An Mei, released on bail after eight months, was described as extremely thin. Some detainees called mandatory “Three Positions” exercises and long fixed sitting a form of torture — their characterization, via ChinaAid. This brief records those family, released-detainee, and activist accounts. It is not an independent inspection of the centers.

The eight are pastors and co-workers of Beijing Zion Church, an unregistered Protestant congregation, detained after an October 2025 sweep and charged with fraud and illegal business operations tied to offerings and online courses — allegations the church has rejected, ChinaAid said. Founder Ezra Jin was released after about nine months. The remaining eight were scheduled for trial August 14–18, 2026, but proceedings were delayed after defense lawyers said they had too little time with the case files. Lawyers also said prosecutors did not solicit their opinions during review for prosecution as required by procuratorial rules — the lawyers’ claim. As President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping prepared for a planned September 24 meeting in Washington, advocates asked for renewed attention to the Zion 8, ChinaAid reported. This brief records that timing request. It does not say the meeting will address the case.