New Zealand grants asylum to two Christian men over religious persecution in China
This is the second similar ruling within weeks.
Also known as Eastern Lightning, the Church of Almighty God teaches that Jesus has returned as a Chinese woman.
Two Christian men from China have been granted asylum in New Zealand in separate decisions just days apart, putting religious persecution in China under fresh scrutiny.
The Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT) accepted in both cases the men could face persecution if returned to China and continued practising their faith.
One of the men, had been detained for about five months after Chinese authorities raided an unregistered Christian gathering.
The other case, decided a few weeks back, involved a man in his mid-30s who belonged to the Church of Almighty God and said he had spent about three years hiding from authorities after his religious involvement was exposed.
His mother had joined the Church of Almighty God when he was still at primary school, although he initially showed little interest. That changed in 2013, when he was in his early 20s and began attending small church gatherings two or three times a week.
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In November 2016, police raided one of those gatherings after receiving a report of an illegal meeting. He stopped attending for a period, before becoming involved with the church again in 2018.
By 2020, he had taken on church duties. After two members he knew were arrested, he was told in June that year that his own name had been given to authorities.
He quit his job the following month, left his city, stopped using his phone and spent about three years moving between at least nine homes to avoid being found.
Tribunal member L Wakim accepted that returning him to China would expose him to a real chance of serious harm.
“The country information is clear that the Chinese authorities continue to actively engage in repressing the unapproved religious activity of members of illegal groups (xie jiao), including believers of the Church of Almighty God,” the tribunal said.
The Church of Almighty God has been banned by the Chinese government since 1995 and is classified there as a cult organisation, or 'xie jiao'.
The tribunal noted membership of such groups is illegal in China and can lead to prosecution under Article 300 of the country’s criminal law, with penalties extending to life imprisonment.
The church is a Christian movement whose central belief is that Jesus has returned in the form of a woman living in China. Its main religious text was first published in 1997.
It regards the Bible as largely useful for historical reference and teaches that followers must accept God’s new message and undergo purification. The tribunal said estimates of its membership range from about one million to 10 million people, with a presence in more than 20 countries.
The man arrived in New Zealand in 2023 and continued practising his religion here. The tribunal heard he spent about 40 hours a week producing Christian material for social media.
His case also showed that he was not the only member of the Church of Almighty God in New Zealand to have been recognised as a refugee.
Three members of the same church provided statements and appeared at his hearing to give evidence. All three had already been recognised as refugees by Immigration New Zealand’s Refugee Status Unit.
The tribunal also rejected the possibility that he could avoid persecution simply by moving to another part of China.
“As the state is the agent of persecution, it is expected to have the administrative, executive and legislative machinery that will enable it to access all parts of the country,” the decision said.
“For this reason, the appellant has no viable internal protection alternative.”
