An interview with J. Gordon Melton, one of the world’s leading scholars of contemporary religion, who explains the differences between the different groups in the tradition of Chinese Protestant preacher Witness Lee.
Interviews
“Dozens of my In-Laws Vanished.” The Other 9/11 of Rushan Abbas
That very day her sister and aunt disappeared. It was six days after the renowned Uyghur activist denounced the disappearance of many others – some of them babies.
A Difficult Journey: The Refugees of The Church of Almighty God in Italy
Dr Cristina Calvani, who graduated with the first dissertation internationally on the refugees of The Church of Almighty God, discusses with Bitter Winter their legal situation in Italy and why it is often difficult for them to be granted asylum.
The List of the Xie Jiao, a Main Tool of Religious Persecution
Hong Kong scholar Edward Irons explains the historical roots of the proscription of certain groups as xie jiao (heterodox teachings), and how being on the list of the xie jiao means being a main target for persecution.
Anti-Refugees “Demonstrations” in South Korea: The Real Story
On September 2–4, 2018, Austrian journalist Peter Zoehrer was an eyewitness to false “spontaneous demonstrations” staged by the CCP and Korean anti-cultists against asylum seekers of The Church of Almighty God in Seoul. He tells the whole story to Bitter Winter.
“Uyghurs Are Forced to Denounce Their Faith to Survive”
Uyghur human rights scholar and activist Zubayra Shamseden tells Bitter Winter that CCP sees all Uyghur as enemies, is engaged in the largest detention of an ethnic group since World War II, and has now extended its repression to other Muslim minorities.
New Age Is Tolerated in China —As Long as It Does Not Challenge the Status Quo
Australian scholar Paul Farrelly, the leading expert on New Age in China, tells Bitter Winter how New Age literature and teachings came from the West to Taiwan, and from there to Mainland China. Unless it challenges the status quo, New Age appears to enjoy a surprising toleration in China.
Arbitrary Detention: The Attorney Who Challenged China
The London attorney, and president of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief, has filed a high-profile complaint against China at the United Nations’ Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Alessandro Amicarelli, a member of the firm Obaseki Solicitors...
Bitter Winter Interviews – Professor Ricardo Martínez Esquivel
At the beginning of the 17th century, one of the most important controversies in the history of Chinese Christianity developed in the Catholic Church, one whose consequences are still felt today. Jesuit missionaries proposed a new style of evangelization in China....
Bitter Winter Interviews – Professor D.H. Williams
Daniel H. Williams is professor of patristics and historical theology at the Department of Religion of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. The author or editor of six books, he has also been active in teaching in China since 2006.









