On March 17, 2020, the civil affairs bureau of Siping, Jilin released a notice banning the Korean sect Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
The document said this Christian cult that gathered without registration was deemed an outlawed social organization.
Recently an article published on WeChat named "True Way," which aims to resist Shincheonji, exposed the secretive sect's conditions and internal dealings in Siping.
It said the cult held various kinds of regular activities in Siping District in the name of the "Good Life Club". The members hosted gatherings at holidays including Children's Day. The purpose was to brainwash the participants while they were in a comfortable setting.
Their activities mainly included walking through streets, supermarkets, fast food restaurants, and public squares.
In addition, the branch in Siping did not get along internally. They were divided into two sects who even attacked each other. The followers sent gifts to please the leaders of their parish.
Several key teachers lied to their families in order to get money, saying they were studying abroad for academic degrees. However, they gave these "compassion" funds to the church.
Nonetheless, some members had inner struggles and sensed problems in their church, but feared to speak out because they wanted to avoid any revenge that might be taken against them.
On November 22, 2020, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Zunyi, Guizhou also announced that the Shincheonji Church was to be outlawed. The same measures were taken in Wenzhou in Zhejiang, Benxi and Tieling in Liaoning, Suihua and Harbin in Heilongjiang as well as Fengtai District in Beijing.
Local police security bureaus in places including Jinzhou, Xi'an and Jiangsu told residents to call the police if there were any signs of the cult.
During the Mid-autumn Festival of 2019, a Nanjing branch was raided by the police. Seventeen key members were legally detained as a destructive blow to the cult. The largest branch in Liaoning was also destroyed, disbanding more than 2,000 followers. All the gatherings in Dalian were permanently closed down along with confiscation and destruction of illegal evangelistic goods.
- Translated by Karen Luo
