Chinese Christian asylum seekers reported heading to U.S.:
More than 60 asylum-seeking members of a Chinese Christian church who were detained last week in Thailand are en route to the United States, a religious freedom advocate who has been aiding them said Friday.
A colonel in Thailand’s police immigration division confirmed that the group left Thailand on Thursday night. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not his agency’s spokesperson.
Thai police on Wednesday said the 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also known as the Mayflower Church, would be deported within a week, likely to a third country. The U.S. Embassy has declined comment on the fate of the group but was involved along with representatives of the U.N. Refugee Agency in talks with Thai officials about the matter.
The church members, who have been in Thailand since last September, were arrested last week in the seaside city of Pattaya for overstaying their visas, fined, and then taken to Bangkok, where they were detained in immigration facilities.
Bob Fu, president of ChinaAid, a Texas-based Christian human rights organization, said the group was heading to the United States and is expected to arrive in Dallas, Texas, on Friday evening. --->READ MORE HERE
Chinese Christian asylum seekers settle in Tyler:
A group of more than 60 members of a Chinese Christan church will be starting a new life in Tyler after fleeing from China due to “extreme persecution,” according to Freedom Seekers International.
The organization said that the Chinese citizens were previously in South Korea for more than a year, but will no longer be sheltered there due to political pressure from China to return them to “re-education camps.”
According to ChinaAid, the group was granted humanitarian parole status by United States authorities.
“In close coordination with the U.S. Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, various UN agencies, and the Thai government, the group will arrive in Texas today. Freedom Seekers International will aid in the resettlement of the exiled church,” ChinaAid said.
The Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, also known as the Mayflower Church, is made up of 28 adults and 32 children, according to ChinaAid. The group reportedly left the People’s Republic of China in November 2019 and went to South Korea after receiving threats from interrogations from PRC police, ChinaAid said. The organization said the group traveled to Thailand to seek refuge. --->READ MORE HERE
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