On June 29, 2026, authorities in Liaoning Province launched a “zeroing-out campaign” targeting Christians of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) in the cities of Dandong and Benxi. Within one day, at least 59 CAG Christians were arrested by police—51 in Dandong and 8 in Benxi. Among those arrested, 26 were elderly members, including seven in their 70s.
According to reports, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used drones, plainclothes surveillance, video monitoring, mobile-phone location tracking, and other methods to conduct long-term surveillance and investigation of Christians of The Church of Almighty God. According to CAG Christians who were arrested and later released, police made the following claims during interrogations: “Drones are flying all over the sky. We’ve been watching you here for quite a long time.” “We walk around the residential communities in plain clothes. We have people monitoring every community.” “Every day I put on a delivery worker’s uniform. Do you think it’s easy for us to catch you?” “I’ve been watching you for more than 100 days. We know where you go every day, what time you leave home, and what time you return.”
The arrested Christians were subjected to varying degrees of beatings and other forms of torture. According to CAG Christians who were later released, “At the police station, an officer kicked Yang Jing, a Christian in her 60s, causing her to fall to her knees. Both of her knees were injured. The police then forced her to squat in a military-style posture, tormenting her from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.” “I was handcuffed to a chair. The police ordered me to sign a statement renouncing my faith in God. When I refused, one officer repeatedly struck me hard in the chest with a beverage bottle. He also yanked my hair and shook my head back and forth, threatening that if I refused to sign, they would send me to the Domestic Security Brigade.”
According to statistics, at least 13 CAG Christians arrested in this operation were sent to detention centers for forced “brainwashing.” The CCP arranged for so-called “brainwashing experts” and teachers to subject CAG Christians to forced ideological “transformation.” They played videos slandering and smearing The Church of Almighty God, forced CAG Christians to write statements of reflection, sign the so-called “Three Statements,” and take the stage and make blasphemous remarks against God.
Moreover, even after some CAG Christians were released, they continued to face intimidation, threats, and surveillance by police. The director of a local police station threatened a Christian, saying, “If anyone comes to hold a gathering with you again, you must notify us immediately. You are not allowed to gather together. If we discover you holding another gathering, you will face criminal charges or a fine!”
(All names in the report are pseudonyms.)
