ADHRRF – On June 19, 2018, Christians from The Church of Almighty God (CAG) were invited to screen a film reflecting the religious status of China at the Centre Bergère of a Catholic church in Paris, France, in the hope that more people would learn about the difficult situation of persecuted Chinese Christians and the facts that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecutes beliefs and abuses human rights.
Before the screening of the film, Priest Marc Guelfucci firstly introduced the persecution against Christians around the world. He mentioned that the number of persecuted Christians worldwide has reached a proportion of nearly one tenth, more precisely, one in 12 Christians is subjected to religious persecution. China, North Korea, India, etc. are the countries where Christian persecution is most severe.
Then the Christian representative from the CAG was invited to make a speech. She said that since the CCP came to power, it has been suppressing and persecuting religious beliefs. It designated Christianity and Catholicism as cults, labeled the Bible as cult book, confiscated and burned countless copies of the Bible, expelled foreign missionaries, reformed Chinese preachers and arrested countless Christians. Due to the Chinese government’s control of the media and its blockade of information, it is hard for the international community to know the truth.
The film screened that day was the documentary To the Brink and Back, a religious persecution film produced by the CAG, which caught the attention of the audience. The film tells that a Chinese Christian Chen Wenzhong had a successful career and a happy family, but because he believed in God, he became wanted by the CCP. He was forced to leave his home and to be on the run for over 10 years. The CCP police constantly monitored, threatened, and intimidated his family, which forced his little son onto the path of no return, hanging himself to death at home.
After the film was over, Priest Guelfucci said: “In France, we know nothing about the religious persecution in China. This documentary gave us a real understanding of it.”
Priest Guelfucci said when interviewed later, “This film shows us that the Chinese government uses digital equipment, surveillance cameras and other electronic technologies to tightly control the life of Christians, which is very impressive. If you are a Christian (in China), you will be completely rejected by that society. This is the truth the film shows us about what is exactly happening in China.”
A French Christian at the event who had worked in China for three years said that seeing the CCP persecuting Christians to such an extent, he felt China is horrible under the rule of the CCP government. He also mentioned that in China, ID card will be required to buy tickets for the trains and coaches and the ticket will be inspected, which allows the CCP government to monitor everyone’s whereabouts all the way.
Another French Christian added, “Yes, I read the newspaper yesterday. China now has installed a lot of surveillance cameras throughout the streets to monitor every movement of the Chinese people.”
Some audience stated that the CCP should respect religions and allow freedom of religious belief. The audience expressed their appreciation to Christians from the CAG for this film screening which provided them with an understanding of the real situation regarding Chinese Christians and religious beliefs in China.
It is known that the CAG is the most severely persecuted house church in China. According to incomplete statistics, as of December 31, 2017, there were 60 Christians from the CAG persecuted to death by the CCP, and 606 Christians were in custody, among whom the longest imprisonment currently known is 14 years.
