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AP Exclusive: Lawyer for China’s Zion Church seeks resettlement help while transiting through Taiwan
Developing
In Short: HONG KONG (AP) — A Chinese lawyer who defended a prominent underground church in Beijing fled to Taiwan and is seeking help for resettlement abroad, following mounting pressure from Chinese authorities on her firm and her colleagues.
In an exclusive interview with The, Wang, a partner at VDoor Law Firm, said she is now facing direct pressure from Chinese authorities. The firm's founder and Wang's mentor, Zhang Kai, had his license revoked and was barred from leaving the country; other lawyers at their firm were suspended from practicing for six months.
Wang said that while on summer vacation in Japan with her family last month, Chinese authorities called and asked her to come meet them in person. The U.S. State Department has condemned the Chinese Communist Party's actions against Christians, especially those who reject party interference in their faith and choose to worship at independent house churches.
Taiwan's authorities allowed her to remain on the island temporarily but told her that Taiwan could not accept cases of political asylum from mainland China due to tensions with the Chinese government. While exploring resettlement options, including studying in the U.S. or Canada, Wang is seeking assistance from Taiwan’s government and other democratic nations to ensure her family's safety and relocation.
What's still developing
- Wang said Thursday in the online video interview from Taiwan, where she is in transit while seeking help on her next steps.
- Zion Church, founded by Jin in 2007, is among the largest so-called underground or house churches that are unregistered with the Chinese authorities.
- Judicial authorities have asked the firm’s lawyers to stop representing cases linked to Zion Church and leave the company, she said.
- “Attorney Wang sought to fulfill the most basic responsibility of a lawyer,” he said.
- He also called on the U.S. and other democratic governments to be prepared to assist Taiwan in finding a solution.
- In an emailed reply, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said that although Taiwan has no law for handling political asylum, it has a mechanism in response to such cases and would deal with it accordingly.
- HONG KONG (AP) — A Chinese lawyer who defended a prominent underground church in Beijing fled to Taiwan and is seeking help for resettlement abroad, following mounting pressure from Chinese authorities on her firm and her colleagues.
- Ruth Wang, partner at VDoor Law Firm, was part of a legal team that represented pastors and others from the Zion Church in Beijing since October 2025.
Sources
- Religionnewslink