October 20th, 2025

USCSSO @GWU
2 days ago
4 min read

Overview

This week, we discuss the detention of Chinese church members, and contested adjustments to semiconductor operation.

Religion

Chinese Authorities Detain Leaders of Unofficial Protestant Church

By Contributor Roane Smith

Chinese authorities detain dozens of church members, including nearly 30 pastors and congregants of Zion Church.

Jin Mingri in the lobby of the unofficial Protestant church in Beijing, China (via Reuters)

Detainment of Zion Church Pastors: Last weekend, police in China detained nearly 30 pastors and church members of the unofficial Zion Church. The church has more than 10,000 members spread out across 40 cities. Although 5 people were released, around 20 remain in police custody. Jin Mingri, the founder of Zion Church, is included among them. He is being held on suspicion of “illegal use of information networks,” according to an official detention notice provided to Reuters. This crime would carry a maximum sentence of 7 years. Jin’s daughter, Grace Lin, is concerned for him and the others being detained, saying that lawyers are not allowed to meet with the pastors.

Christianity in China: Approximately 44 million Chinese are registered Christians attending official churches; however, rights activists and scholars estimate that tens of millions more attend unofficial Christian churches, which do not follow state-sanctioned ideologies. For Jin specifically, witnessing the Tiananmen Square Massacre was a “pivotal moment.” In 2002, Jin moved with his family to study at a seminary in the U.S. After returning to China in 2007, Jin decided to start an unofficial church instead of following the Three-Self doctrine, which calls for allegiance to the Chinese state. Ms. Jin Drexel stated that "He couldn't be a pastor there as it was not a God-pleasing church... you can't serve two masters."

Why Zion Church: Zion Church started small with only about 20 members. It grew quickly, and in 2018 had moved to a large office building for services. Chinese authorities requested CCTV be placed in the building for “security” purposes, which the church refused. Later that year, they were shut down, and Jin was placed under surveillance and prevented from leaving the country. His family was still able to leave and moved to the U.S. along with other church members. Because of this, Zion Church moved to a hybrid system with large online services and small in-person gatherings. In September, a new online code of conduct for religious personnel was announced, banning unauthorized online preaching. Concerning the detainment of members of the church, Bob Fu, founder of Christian NGO ChinaAid, said, “The key underlying reason is that Zion Church has grown explosively into a well-organized network in recent years, which of course must scare the Communist Party leadership.”

Trade

EU Enters US-China Trade War: Dutch Seize Chinese Corporation

By Contributor Jason Holman

On Oct. 12 the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs announced it removed Nexperia’s CEO and would oversee the semiconductor corporation.

Nexperia’s headquarters in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Nexperia is an important semiconductor manufacturer in Europe. (via DutchNews)

Seizure: On Oct. 12 the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs announced on Sept. 30 it had engaged the Goods Availability Act to partially control Chinese semiconductor company Nexperia. Further on Oct. 14 the Amsterdam Court of Appeals removed Zhang Xuezheng as CEO of Nexperia, temporarily replacing him with CFO Stefan Tigler. The Goods Availability Act allows the Dutch government to block or reverse company decisions it deems are harmful to the company’s interests and its value as a supply chain for Europe. Wingtech, the partially state-owned Chinese business which acquired Nexperia in 2018, stocks dropped 10% on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Wingtech stated it will pursue legal action against the Dutch. Additionally on Oct. 14 China blocked Nexperia from exporting components made in China.

Zhang Xuesheng: Since 2023 Dutch managers have been attempting to break Nexperia’s reliance on China which had largely been blocked by Zhang. In Dec. 2024 Wingtech was added to the US Bureau of Industry’s Entity List, a list of companies deemed to be engaged in activities contrary to US national security. In June the US Bureau of International Security warned that Nexperia would lose US markets if Zhang Xuezheng stayed as CEO. On Sept. 29 the US Bureau of Industry and Security placed US export restrictions on all groups at least 50% owned by entities on the US Entity List. This, along with tensions between Zhang and several high-ranking Dutch officials in the country, led to the Dutch government taking action against Zhang and taking greater control over Nexperia.

Choke-Points: Nexperia is a very important manufacturer of semi-conducters, employing over 12,500 across Europe, Asia, and the US as well as building nearly 50 billion components a year. The move has brought major resistance from China, where 80% of the company’s chips are packaged and shipped from. China’s restrictions have already started to impact supplies with companies such as BMW. The EU has largely backed the Netherlands with Olaf Gill and Marcos Sefovic saying they would take moves additionally to support the Dutch. The EU is becoming a larger player in the US-China trade war.