The judges concluded that “Bitter Winter” and the late PierLuigi Zoccatelli are credible sources on the CAG, Chinese propaganda is not.
by Massimo Introvigne
What is the truth about the persecution of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) and other groups labeled “xie jiao” (heterodox movements, sometimes translated as “evil cults”) in China? Chinese embassies and their fellow travelers go to great lengths to claim that persecution is an invention of American propaganda or Western scholars, criticizing in particular “Bitter Winter.” In Italy, fellow travelers of the Chinese Communist Party have even created an improbable “Observatory of Cults” website, whose articles mostly defend China and the CCP and slander their critics. The level of the texts is abysmally low; however, they are occasionally advertised on social media by anti-cult activists connected with FECRIS, the controversial European anti-cult federation, whose cooperation with China is in turn well-known. A similar role is played in South Korea by O Myung-Ok, a woman who publishes an anti-cult magazine called “Religion and Truth” and has been often accused of working with China’s intelligence services.
On June 14, in an exemplary decision judging a CAG asylum seeker, represented by specialized lawyers Amalia Astory and Laura Bondi, as deserving “the higher level of protection” in Italy, the Tribunal of Rome answered the question by mentioning as “reliable sources” “Bitter Winter,” reports by the U.S. and other governments that quote “Bitter Winter,” and a statement by the late sociologist PierLuigi Zoccatelli, who was deputy director of CESNUR, “Bitter Winter”’s parent organization. It is significant and moving that, a few week after his death, Zoccatelli was still able to help asylum seekers and perhaps save lives. As the Romans of old said, “mortuus adhuc loquitur,” sometimes those who have preceded us in death still speak with a powerful, effective voice.
The case concerned a woman from Shanxi who had joined the CAG in 2013. Her parents were also CAG members and persecuted as such. When the fact of her parents’ membership in the banned church was disclosed, she was expelled from her university, although the latter did not know that she was a CAG devotee herself. She went into hiding but, as persecution against the CAG increased, she escaped to Italy in December 2018.
There, an administrative commission, perhaps influenced by Chinese propaganda, refused to grant her asylum. She appealed to the Tribunal of Rome, which has now ruled in her favor.
Quoting Italian government sources, which in turn refer to “Bitter Winter,” “a study by sociologist Pier Luigi Zoccatelli,” and the U.S. State Department reports on religious liberty (which also quoted “Bitter Winter”), the Tribunal first dismissed the common objection that, if they were really persecuted, CAG members should not be able to obtain a passport and pass the facial recognition tests at international airports. The judges stated that “corruption of public officials is extremely widespread and therefore it is not very difficult to obtain a passport for expatriation even for members of The Church of Almighty God. Many members of The Church of Almighty God may then have escaped the surveillance system of the Chinese government and police. According to Zoccatelli, checks at Chinese airports may be ineffective and the facial detection systems themselves can be easily circumvented.”
Furthermore, the Tribunal acknowledged “the repressive policy adopted by Chinese government authorities against all religious movements that do not submit to registration and control by the state,” and the extensive interpretation of Article 300 of the Chinese Criminal Code against “xie jiao” by Chinese courts. “Specifically,” the Tribunal explains, “regarding believers in the Church of Almighty God, the sources report that: ‘being active in any capacity in the Church of Almighty God is considered a crime in China, and exposes [a believer] to severe prison sentences.’” The court also notes that, “There are at least two cases of followers of The Church of Almighty God expatriated to South Korea who were allegedly tortured by Chinese authorities upon their return to China.”
The decision reports from “Bitter Winter” that both against the CAG and Falun Gong, China uses “agents abroad as well as infiltration practices in the online propaganda”: “The Chinese government directly sends its own special agents abroad to infiltrate xie jiao religious organizations. Agent Ms. O Myung-Ok, for example, infiltrated a venue where members of the Church of Almighty God gather in South Korea on the pretext of listening to gospel music, managing to take photos of the people who were present at the ceremony. Other officers are called upon to stage fake demonstrations abroad against the Church of God Almighty. In such demonstrations, they try to push foreign authorities to extradite members of the Church of God Almighty sect to China. On July 22, 2019, one such fake demonstration was staged in South Korea. Many believers are arrested when they return to China, and some are never heard from again.” “According to ‘Bitter Winter,’” the decision continues, “the Chinese government launched a series of propaganda campaigns abroad to push foreign authorities to extradite members of that religious sect [CAG]. In some cases, false demonstrations would be staged in which the Chinese government would manage to get relatives of members of the Church of Almighty God living abroad to participate in addition to its own agents. The relatives would be tasked with persuading the sect members to return home…. According to a documentary by ‘Bitter Winter,’ Chinese refugees belonging to religious minorities would be systematically persecuted by Chinese agents sent abroad, while refugees forcibly returned to China would be subjected to arrest, detention, and torture.”
The Tribunal also notes that in China, “Economic incentives and rewards are provided to anyone who provides information about Christians and members of the Church of Almighty God. Electronic devices have been installed in the cars and transportation vehicles of Christians to track their movements. College, middle school and elementary school students are subjected to a Faith Questionnaire in order for authorities to learn about their beliefs and those of their families.”
“In conclusion,” the Tribunal states, “considering the fear of persecution on religious grounds experienced by the applicant to be well-founded, the appeal must be considered worthy of being granted with reference to the highest form of protection.”
