In April, Germany deported back to China an Uyghur asylum seeker who “disappeared” after his repatriation. Now, Germany has apologized for the “mistake,” yet plans to deport on August 31 Sister Zhao of The Church of Almighty God, who will likely “disappear” as well.
German authorities have announced that on August 31 they will forcibly deport to China Sister Zhao, an asylum seeker currently detained in Ingelheim who resisted repatriation on July 9.
Nine NGOs active in the field of religious liberty wrote on August 1 to German Chancellor Angela Merkel urging her to intervene on behalf of Sister Zhao.
Ms. Zhao is a member of The Church of Almighty God, a Chinese Christian new religious movement founded in 1991, which is heavily persecuted in China and is included since 1995 in the official list of xie jiao.
Xie jiao (customarily translated as “evil cults,” but in fact meaning “heterodox teachings”) are movements the government does not approve of. Being active in a xie jiao is a crime punished by Article 300 of the Chinese Criminal Code with a jail penalty of 3 to 7 years or “more.”
A confidential CCP document leaked to Western media indicates that a new massive campaign for “eradicating” xie jiao and CAG has been launched in 2018, with the number of arrests and sentences increasing.
In April 2018, Germany deported back to China a Uyghur Muslim asylum seeker. Once he landed in China, he “disappeared,” and his lawyer and family have all reasons to fear the worst. Germany has now apologized calling the deportation “a mistake.” Apologies, however, did not save the Uyghur, and late apologies would not save Sister Zhao.