Reporter: Xu Yi
In 2024, multiple regions in Zhejiang launched massive arrest operations targeting The Church of Almighty God (CAG), detaining at least 1,088 church members throughout the year. Suspected members were also indiscriminately subjected to forced indoctrination.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) issued secret directives ordering police to use public security big data to track individuals connected to CAG Christians—through phone calls, shared travel or cohabitation—to identify more suspected believers. In October 2024, at an internal police meeting in a Zhejiang locality, authorities explicitly ordered an aggressive campaign to arrest believers in Almighty God, stating that all suspected individuals must be detained and subjected to forced indoctrination. No one would be released unless they signed the “Three Statements” renouncing their faith.
Under this order, anyone who had contact with CAG Christians or lived in households visited by CAG Christians became a target of CCP suspicion. Additionally, individuals previously arrested who refused to sign the “Three Statements” were subjected to re-arrests, forced indoctrination, and pressured to sign.
Qiao Ming (pseudonym), whose husband was arrested and sentenced years ago for his faith, was also deemed a believer by police and taken into custody during the 2024 mass arrest operation.
CAG Christian Danni (pseudonym) was detained by police in 2023 but refused to sign the “Three Statements.” In November 2024, she was taken into custody again and sent to a brainwashing center.
Reportedly, police forced all detained CAG members to sign the “Three Statements” to renounce their faith. At least 492 individuals were subjected to forced indoctrination, with some enduring torture.
Jiang Qin (pseudonym), a 62-year-old CAG Christian, was forced into 21 days of forced indoctrination, during which she suffered severe physical and mental abuse. Police handcuffed her behind her back, yanked her hair and ears, slapped her face, forced her to stand as punishment, and denied her food and toilet access. One officer viciously threatened her, saying, “Even cancer patients won’t be spared from this ordeal!”
