Chinese lawyer defending underground Zion Church flees to Taiwan, seeks asylum options

Ruth Wang, a partner at VDoor Law Firm, has been part of the legal team defending pastors of Beijing’s underground Zion Church since October 2025. After Chinese authorities demanded the firm’s dissolution and revoked the license of founder Zhang Kai, Wang fled to Taiwan while on a family vacation in Japan. The pressure intensified after the mass arrest of 18 Zion Church members, including founder Ezra Jin, who was later released following a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

In Taiwan, immigration permitted Wang to remain in the airport area temporarily but declined a formal asylum claim, citing the island’s lack of a refugee policy for mainland Chinese. Human-rights advocate Bob Fu urged Taiwan to protect Wang’s family and called on democratic governments to help find a solution. Wang is now considering studying in the United States or Canada as a pathway to relocate, or applying for asylum elsewhere.