Refugees of The Church of Almighty God in Japan

Oral statement of Ms Christine Mirre, of the accredited NGO CAP-LC, at the 40th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva, 13 March 2019.

As of January 2019, 270 members of The Church of Almighty God (CAG), a Chinese Christian new religious movement, have escaped China and applied for asylum in Japan. None of the requests has been granted.

That the CAG is ruthlessly and cruelly persecuted in China is an established fact. The CAG claims that more than 300,000 of its members have been arrested, and scholars regard the figure as credible. There are hundreds of published Chinese court decisions showing that CAG members have been sentenced to heavy jail penalties for the only circumstance of being active in a banned religious organization. NGOs have also reported instances of torture, extra-judicial killings, and organ harvesting.

Young, Persecuted Member of The Church of Almighty God Is Granted Asylum in US

18-year old Sister Danxiang Cheng was recognized as a refugee after a legal battle that lasted several months.

Sister Danxiang Cheng is an 18-year-old member of The Church of Almighty God (CAG). During her time as a CAG member in China, she experienced several episodes that made her uncomfortable and fearful of living in Chinese society as a CAG member. She received intense scrutiny in school regarding students’ religious affiliation and, even though she was a good student, this pressure resulted in her dropping out of school. Her mother was nearly arrested by the police for her CAG membership and narrowly escaped, forcing her to hide in another town away from her daughter. In addition, two CAG members that Ms. Cheng was close to were arrested by the police and one of them was even sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment for her beliefs and activities!

Story of O: Korea #1 Bigot Harasses Refugees (and Many Others)—Again

On July 22, new false demonstrations against refugees from The Church of Almighty God start in Korea. The bigot promoting them is spreading hate against all minorities.

The Church of Almighty God’s Refugees in Japan: A Statement at the United Nations

No refugee of The Church of Almighty God has been granted asylum in Japan, a country with a very restrictive policy on refugees in general. The situation has been discussed at the United Nations

As of January 2019, 270 members of The Church of Almighty God (CAG), a Chinese Christian new religious movement, have escaped China and applied for asylum in Japan. None of the requests has been granted.

Court of Rome: CAG Refugees Returning to China Would Suffer “Serious Harm”

The Court of Rome granted asylum to a member of the Church of Almighty God, acknowledging that the Church is persecuted in China.

Amalia Astori and Laura Bondi

Mrs. L.Z., a forty-six years old Chinese citizen, converted in 2011 and became a member of The Church of Almighty God (CAG), which helped her during a difficult period of her life.

Since the CAG is persecuted in China, Mrs. L.Z. met secretly once a week with her fellow believers, in different homes, to worship and read the movement’s sacred scriptures. In 2014, during one of these meetings, the police broke in. Mrs. L.Z. managed to escape from the back door and hide into a cornfield, located behind the house where the meeting was taking place.

Chinese Religious Persecution, Harassment of Refugees Abroad Denounced in Seoul

A conference co-hosted by Bitter Winter denounced a global CCP campaign aimed at preventing Chinese refugees from persecuted religious groups from being granted asylum abroad.

Persecution Escalating

China is trying to systematically wipe out all religions which are not controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), refugees and human rights experts told a distinguished audience at the conference “The Long Arm of the Dragon: China’s Persecution of Believers at Home and Abroad,” co-hosted in Seoul on June 20 by the Korean NGO Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL), Brussels-based Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF), and Bitter Winter. The experts explained how the CCP aggressively pursues religious believers who leave the country and exerts pressure to block foreign governments from granting them refugee status. The conference marked the United Nations’ World Refugee Day, and included an exhibition of pictures about religious persecution in China, most of them taken from Bitter Winter.

South Korean False Demonstrations Against The Church of Almighty God Refugees End in Disgrace

Police intervention stops further false demonstrations by CCP executives and anti-cultists harassing harmless refugees in Korea. 

Bitter Winter has reported in the last few days about false “spontaneous demonstrations” organized in South Korea against The Church of Almighty God (CAG) by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) executives who came from China for this purpose, with relatives of CAG asylum seekers they had “persuaded” to join them and local anti-cultists led by pro-Chinese activist Ms. O Myung-ok. For a fortunate coincidence, the Austrian journalist Peter Zoehrer, secretary of FOREF (Forum for Religious Freedom Europe), was in Seoul for collecting material about CAG members who suffered torture in China, and was able to document and photograph the events for Bitter Winter.

Consequence of Deporting Chinese Christian Refugees in Europe: Torture! Blood!

Impression after watching:     💖👂👀🙏

How can I not be simmering with rage after watching this news report? In China, there is no free speech, let alone freedom of religion, all are under the CCP’s supervision and restraint. It is very difficult for citizens to believe in God! The CCP has been advocating dictatorship, using cruel, imperious and despotic ways to rule over the country and its people. It is an obvious fact to all that the freedom of religion doesn't exist in China. There is no human freedom in such a country. May God strengthen these Christians to walk on the right path with unfailing determination.

In recent years, legions of war refugees have swarmed into Europe.And some states tightened up their policy on refugees successively.According to Nouvelles d'Europe, in July 2017, while announcing a refugee reception plan,the French Prime Minister Philippe emphasized that the asylum seekers whose applications are denied should be deported without exception.Among the refugees who are confronted with deportation,are Christians from China.They suffered arbitrary arrests and persecution at the hands of the CCP atheistic regime solely because they had attended gatherings and spread the gospel in Mainland China.They were subsequently turned homeless without a hideout in China,and had to risk their lives to flee to overseas democracies for asylum.However, most of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) Christians who fled to Europe have had their refugee status applications denied so far,and hundreds of these Christians are confronted with deportation.Very few people have the knowledge of what persecution these Christians had suffered in China,or how risky the situation will be once they are sent back to China,or what living conditions they are going through in host countries.Well, let’s approach these Christians together today.