It is a “battle of light and darkness” is how Bob Fu sees the ongoing oppression of Chinese Christians, in and out of the country.
“They don’t like to see Christians are worshiping God instead of what Communist Party mandates - worship President Xi Jinping and pledge total allegiance and dedication,” Fu told State Newswire.
Fu, 54, is a China native who was a student leader in 1989 during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations. After graduating from the School of International Relations at the People’s (Renmin) University in Beijing, he taught English to Communist Party officials while also serving as a house church leader.
Fu was a church leader until he and his wife were arrested in 1996. They were imprisoned two months for “illegal evangelism." They fled to the U.S. as religious refugees the following year, and Fu went on to found ChinaAid in an effort to shed light on the ongoing human rights abuses in China. It is accepting donations to help refugees.
One small Christian church has been on the run from CCP operatives for years. Led by pastor Pan Yongguang, the “Mayflower Church” congregation fled China and sought refuge in South Korea. But in South Korea the group has faced stalking, harassment, plus threatening calls and messages.
Family members of the congregants back in China have been interrogated and intimidated. Less than 1% of people seeking asylum in South Korea are granted refuge there, so the church fled once again, this time to Thailand.
Although the group still faces concerns over being hunted by the CCP, one congregant said the sacrifices are worth it to him, because he can teach his children about God, whereas in China, schoolchildren are all taught to believe in atheism and communism.
“We’re willing to pay this price,” he said. “God always has the best plan.”
Yongguang recently issued a statement of faith, prompted by growing concerns of forced repatriation. Pan says he has no plans to return to China.
“I was personally threatened and harassed since submitting my refugee claim in Thailand. My relatives still residing in China have been coerced by the PRC government to call me and attempt to force me to return to China,” he said. “During a Sept. 5, interview with The Associated Press in Bangkok, interviews with myself and members of our church had to be stopped when operatives from China entered the venue where the interviews were taking place.
"Based on the above apparent threats and the unspecified dangers, the possibility exists that I may be secretly kidnapped by Chinese communist agents and returned to mainland China," he said. "The possibility also exists that I may be arrested by Thai immigration authorities, be illegally escorted to mainland China and ‘go disappeared’ as have so many others who stood for the same principles of religious freedom and human rights that I also espouse. I declare I will not return to mainland China voluntarily; I will not leave my family and church members without a pastor."
Fu stays in regular contact with Yongguang, who is leading a group of 62 people, including 33 children.
“He wants people to know that the members of the Mayflower Church are facing imminent threat by the Chinese Communist security officers,” he said. “Agents working inside Thailand tried to kidnap them. He asked for prayer for protection. The members are really alert.”
Fu said Pan faces a potential life sentence, or even death.
“If they are kidnapped back to China, they will be definitely back to imprisonment and according to what the Chinese Communist Party described, he was accused of harming national security, traitor,” he said.
Fu said the Mayflower Church members are asking for assistance. It can come in many forms.
“We can first and foremost pray for them,” he said. “People also can really support them by, number one, giving some financial support. Right now, they are in exile. Their visas expired. They're not allowed to work. They are being hunted by the Chinese agents as late as yesterday and today. Chinese spies were following them when the children were in a zoo.
“They need some financial support for their basic food and accommodation and hiding,” Fu said. “And also, some people who have time to travel there as American citizens to teach English to their children, that could be helpful too.”
He also said anyone with influence with U.S. government leaders should reach out and make a case for assisting the church members. They want to resettle in the United States.
“Because in Tyler, Texas, a group of churches that are already prepared with everything to sponsor them for one year while waiting for their asylum,” Fu said. “The church community has been fully prepared. We need the U.S. government to take action. This is the right thing to do. This is pure religious persecution based on their Christian faith and their family members back in China are under tremendous persecution. All of their family members, from different provinces, were being taken and interrogated, questioned, threatened every week.
It’s an epic struggle that has been ongoing for years.
President Xi Jinping implemented Operation Fox Hunt in 2014, utilizing a network of undercover Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agents to stalk, intimidate, and ultimately repatriate Chinese people living abroad, including some who are U.S. citizens, according to a ProPublica report. The targets have supposedly committed financial crimes, but some are political dissidents or whistleblowers.
The CCP operatives use coercive measures, such as threatening family members, to “persuade” the target to return to China.
“They use pressure, leverage, threats against family, they use proxies,” said FBI deputy assistant director Bradley Benavides. “Certainly, they are good at getting what they want.”
Through Operation Fox Hunt, CCP agents have reportedly caught more than 8,000 targets living abroad. Fu witnessed it personally.
“Oh, my goodness, yes,” he told State Newswire. “I had encounters with the CCP agents in Washington, D.C., in Belgium, Brussels; and Geneva, Switzerland.”
He said when he spoke with a member of Congress, a CCP operative followed him. Fu said he has been “invited for tea,” which has an ominous meaning for Chinese dissidents and expatriates.
“And now the Chinese government reportedly already set up 54 overseas police stations, including in New York City, with the deliberate purpose to harass and oppress the overseas dissidents,” he said.
Why is this happening?
“The Communist Party is operating under a very paranoid mentality,” Fu said. “Basically, the thinking is, especially Christianity’s international faiths, they always paint Christians in China as the running dogs for anti-China forces intent on destabilizing China, collaborators with the anti-China Americans.”
In addition, he said the CCP is deeply corrupt. It wants people to all but worship Xi and the late Mao Zedong whose portrait has been placed on church pulpits.
“They’re very scared of the Christian faith because we worship something higher than the Communist Party,” Fu said. “Yeah, they want to be the lord of the church. So that’s the essence of their fear.”
