Since the initial implementation of the "Regulations on religious affairs" in 2018, Christians and other religious groups have experienced heightened levels of persecution. China has banned online sales of Bibles, leveled churches, and arrested hundreds of Christians for "inciting subversion of state power."
In December, China sentenced Wang Yi, founder of one of China’s largest unregistered churches, to nine years in prison for “subversion of state power.” The U.S. condemned the sentencing as “another example of “Beijing's intensification of repression of Chinese Christians and members of other religious groups.”