Members of Shouwang Church began trying to hold Sunday worship services in an open-air plaza in northwest Beijing from April 10, witnessed by some of the world's biggest media organisations.
They have documented police taking into custody scores of Chinese Christians peacefully exercising their constitutional right to practice their religion. Hundreds have been detained and released or put under extra-judicial house arrest for varying periods.
Meanwhile the church's top leaders have been illegally confined to their homes since April 9.
The trigger for this weekly church-state stand-off was Shouwang's loss of its worship site in early April when its landlord, under government pressure, evicted the 1000-member church from its leased premises.
But the dispute is not simply over church property or whether Christians in China are allowed to worship outdoors, says China Aid.
"What happens to Shouwang, and how China's authoritarian leadership deals with a fearless church that has a stated goal of being 'a city on a hill' is a harbinger for the future of China's social development and, by extension, what kind of nation China will become."
A petition supporting Shouwang has attracted thousands of signatures and comments of support, including from Australia.
See CNN's reports:
Underground Christians fear China crackdown
Church officials: Chinese authorities block Easter service in Beijing
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