According to rough statistics, nearly 500 members of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) were arrested between March and September 2024 in the cities of Qingdao, Weifang, and Yantai in Shandong Province.
Following the conclusion of the Two Sessions (the NPC and CPPCC) in March and continuing through the days leading up to National Day, the CCP reportedly detained CAG members almost every month. On August 27 alone, over 150 CAG Christians were apprehended in Qingdao.
SkyNet Surveillance, E-Bike Trackers and Drones Tracking
Prior to their arrests, several CAG Christians reported an increase in surveillance around their homes, including new security cameras. One CAG member in Linqu County noticed a large camera installed near her front door three months before her arrest. A neighbor told her that local police had set up the camera to monitor her home closely, instructing her to say it was privately installed if anyone asked.
“During interrogation, the police could accurately describe the brand of my electric bike and the type of helmet I wore,” said another CAG member who was later released.
Earlier leaked documents revealed that the CCP has instructed the police to fully utilize the “Sharp Eyes Project” and other surveillance networks, combining these with police databases to track, monitor, and arrest church members.
In addition to security cameras, tracking devices on electric bikes and drones have been widely used to put CAG Christians under surveillance.
In June 2024, a church member in Gaomi noticed a tracker placed on her electric bike. She began to limit her contact with other church members, half a month before her arrest, she lowered her guard, drove her electric bike and met another christian, who was also arrested afterward.
Another CAG Christian, who was later released, recounted that he had noticed a drone following him before his arrest.
Forcible Humiliation of Women & Torture
The CCP reportedly uses torture against CAG Christians to extract more information about their church.
A female church member in Qingdao reported experiencing torture and sexual insult following her arrest. The police forced her to sit on a “tiger bench” — a method of physical restraint designed to inflict pain. They inserted sewing needles under her fingernails and poured chili pepper water into the wounds. They also dragged her into a men’s restroom, pinching her all over below the navel. One male officer kicked her so hard that she couldn’t walk, and she had to be carried out by two other policemen.
Another officer humiliated and harassed her continuously, making inappropriate comments and physical advances, including asking her to take a shower with him and touching her sensitive parts of her upper body.
A male church member also reported torture during his interrogation, saying, “Six officers took turn to slap me across my face and punch me in the head. They pulled one of my arms over my shoulder and the other behind my back, then handcuffed my wrists together. They wedged water bottles between my wrists and forcibly lifted my arms, fixing my both arms to the back of a chair and pressing my legs against the ground while pulling them upward, replicating the tiger bench technique. They also hit me hard on the soles of my feet and scraped my ribs with finger-thick bamboo sticks, leaving me extensive bruising. Then they pressed hard on my collarbones. It really hurt.”
Table 1: Statistics on Arrested CAG Christians in Three Shandong Cities
| Date | City | Number of Arrests |
|---|---|---|
| 03/13/2024 | Qingdao | 58 |
| 03/25/2024 | Qingdao | 18 |
| 05/21/2024 | Qingdao | 51 |
| 06/25/2024 | Qingdao | 34 |
| 07/02-07/14/2024 | Weifang | 43 |
| 07/10/2024 | Weifang | 23 |
| 07/30/2024 | Weifang | 27 |
| 08/07/2024 | Yantai | 22 |
| 08/27/2024 | Qingdao | 150 |
| 09/19/2024 | Yantai | 25 |
| 09/25/2024 | Yantai | 25 |
