A spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency and a Thai police official told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that 63 members of the Reformed Holy Word Church in Shenzhen had left Thailand for the United States.
A group of Chinese Christians seeking asylum abroad are heading to the U.S. with plans to settle permanently, ending a three-year effort to find a new home outside of China that has been plagued by legal setbacks and police arrests. detained, the efforts of these believers have been hampered.
A spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency and a Thai police official told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church had left Thailand for the United States . The members were detained in Thailand last week for violating visa rules.
A spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency declined to comment on details. The above-mentioned Thai police official said that the 63 believers left Thailand on several flights that took off from Thursday night to Friday morning.
A U.S. activist who has been assisting the church said the congregants were heading to Dallas and could arrive Friday night. “Freedom Seekers International”…
A group of Chinese Christians seeking asylum abroad are heading to the U.S. with plans to settle permanently, ending a three-year effort to find a new home outside of China that has been plagued by legal setbacks and police arrests. detained, the efforts of these believers have been hampered.
A spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency and a Thai police official told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church had left Thailand for the United States . The members were detained in Thailand last week for violating visa rules.
A spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency declined to comment on details. The above-mentioned Thai police official said that the 63 believers left Thailand on several flights that took off from Thursday night to Friday morning.
A U.S. activist who has been assisting the church said the congregants were heading to Dallas and could arrive Friday night. Freedom Seekers International has been working with the church to place its members in Tyler, about 100 miles east of Dallas. Based in Texas, the organization is a nonprofit that helps people fleeing religious persecution.
The U.S. embassy in Bangkok and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Thai police officials earlier told The Wall Street Journal that they were discussing with U.S. officials and the U.N. refugee agency what to do with members of the church, especially about where they would be sent if they were deported from Thailand.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to reporters’ inquiries.
(this article will be updated)