Members of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) were detained recently. Their release is uncertain.
In July, Bai Ru (pseudonym) of Shanxi, was detained by the authorities “on suspicion of the crime of using a xie jiao organization to undermine law enforcement” and held at a detention center in Taiyuan city.
Ms. Bai is a member of The Church of Almighty God. The organization was designated as a xie jiao in 1995 by the authorities in China. Heterodox teachings are illegal in the country and punishable under Chinese Criminal Code.
By mid-September, Ms. Bai was transferred to a “transformation through education” camp in Changzhi city. The camp is located near a local tourist attraction but still, quite secluded.
By the end of the month, her family was only allowed to visit the camp. While they dropped off clothing for her, they were not allowed to see her. A police officer told them, “She cannot meet with family members, nor can we let her know that her family came to visit her. That would be detrimental to her transformation.” At present, no one knows when she might be released.
Meanwhile, Zhejiang’s Zhang Wenbin (pseudonym) is going through something similar as well.
A Shengzhou city resident, Mr. Zhang was picked up by plainclothes police officers last month. He was then taken to a camp in a holiday resort in Xinchang county. His family is also not allowed to see him.
According to several insiders, the classes at camps have become more intense of late. A person can be released only when they can write about how their ideological thinking has improved due to which they can renounce their religious belief.
Reported by Feng Gang
