[1] The church was founded in 1993 by Jin Tianming, a chemical engineering graduate of Tsinghua University of Korean ethnicity.
[1] The services are conducted at members' homes or in rented conference rooms; its other activities include 40 biblical reading groups, choir practice and catechism.
[1] Persecution intensified in the context of the general 2011 crackdown on dissidents, following an announcement by church leaders that they would begin holding Sunday service meetings in public, if they were not allowed to acquire premises.
[3] As of June 2011, several dozen Shouwang followers are detained every week and forced to sign a disavowal of their spiritual guide before being released,[1] and six church leaders have been placed under house arrest without court documentation.
[4] According to the German weekly Die Zeit, Beijing police use around 4,500 officers to provide surveillance of Zhongguancun Square and of the homes of about 500 church members, to prevent the church from congregating.