Bitter Winter
A magazine on religious liberty and human rights

NEWS FROM CHINA

Fujian: Police Mobilized to Demolish Village‑Funded Temple, Several Injured
Yet another demolition sparks public outrage and police brutality.
NEWS FROM THE WORLD

Shinangchon: The Proposed Korean Anti-Cult Law and the Sudden Targeting of a Peaceful Community
The new policy offers the anti-cultists an opportunity for a vendetta against one of the remnants of the Olive Tree, one of their main enemies in the 20th century.
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TESTIMONIES FROM CHINA
Mongolian: The Language Beijing Wants to Bury Alive
A sweeping investigation reveals how Mongolian words, songs, and memories are being erased, from the digital world to the classroom door.
TESTIMONIES FROM THE WORLD
When Faith Goes on Trial: France Accuses the Famille Missionnaire de Notre-Dame of “Brainwashing”
The trial of a Catholic community under flexible ideas of “abuse of weakness” reveals how French anti-cult laws may target almost anyone.
FEATURED CHINA
China’s Crackdown on Gaia Earth Core: Consumer Protection or Authoritarian Control?
A movement with over 10,000 members may have violated consumer protection laws. But the repression is also part of a campaign to eliminate independent spiritual organizations.
FEATURED INTERNATIONAL
A New Book on the Jehovah’s Witnesses from Cambridge University Press
Jolene Chu and Ollimatti Peltonen, both researchers and members of the organization themselves, offer a short but well-crafted introduction.
OP-EDS CHINA
A Tale of Two Hostage-Takings: Maduro and the Uyghurs
Who, in fact, set the example for hostage‑taking—Donald Trump or Xi Jinping? A Uyghur journalist’s opinion.
OP-EDS INTERNATIONAL
Argentina and The Architecture of Suspicion. 1. The Ghost in the Machine: “Coercive Persuasion” and the Displacement of Evidence
Old, discredited “brainwashing” theories and anti-cult rhetoric are still used against spiritual minorities.
INTERVIEWS

Japan, Misunderstanding the Unification Church: An Interview with Masumi Fukuda
A candid account of the path that led a non-religious journalist to uncover inconvenient truths about the anti-cult campaigns following Shinzo Abe’s assassination.
DOCUMENT AND TRANSLATIONS

Argentina y la arquitectura de la sospecha. 1. El fantasma en la máquina: “persuasión coercitiva” y el desplazamiento de la prueba
Teorías antiguas y desacreditadas de “lavado de cerebro” y retórica antisectas siguen utilizándose contra minorías espirituales.






