—Denouncing CCP Human Rights Abuses and Violent Suppression and Persecution of Religious Freedom
On December 10, 2025, to mark the 77th World Human Rights Day, the Tibetan Community in Switzerland & Liechtenstein (TCSL) held a rally and march along the lakeside near Palais Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland. The event aimed to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, to speak out for those still fighting for fundamental freedoms under CCP authoritarian oppression, and denounce the CCP’s brutal persecution of religious beliefs and human rights.
Several hundred people participated in this rally, including members of the Tibetan Community in Switzerland & Liechtenstein (TCSL), the Swiss-Tibetan Friendship Association (GSTF), representatives from the Central Tibetan Administration, as well as Christians from The Church of Almighty God (CAG), house church members, and other religious believers.
As is widely known, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights established universal principles affirming that everyone is entitled to fundamental rights including the right to life, liberty, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and freedom from fear and want. However, since coming to power, the CCP has continuously cracked down on religious belief, persecuted religious believers, and demonstrated contempt for human rights and disregard for human life—representing a serious violation of the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Participants expressed their hope and urged people worldwide to pay attention to and condemn the CCP’s atrocities.
The march set off from Palais Wilson and proceeded on foot toward the Place des Nations (United Nations Plaza) in Geneva. Along the route, participants held high banners and placards, and Christians chanted slogans in unison including “Stop Persecution!”, “Respect Life!”, and “Faith is Not a Crime!”, which attracted the attention of passersby.
Multiple Representatives Speak Out Together, Condemning the CCP’s Genocide Against Tibetans
At the event, Mr. Dewa, Executive Head of External Affairs of TCSL, delivered a speech exposing the ongoing deterioration of the human rights situation in Tibet: currently, over one million Tibetan children aged 4 to 18 have been forcibly sent to state-run boarding schools, where they are separated from their families, deprived of their right to learn the Tibetan language, culture, and religion, and indoctrinated with a “Chinese national identity.” In recent years, the CCP has also demolished more than 300 Buddhist stupas and statues.
To this end, the TCSL urged the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to take action: urgently abolish colonial-style boarding schools and ensure Tibetan children’s right to education in their own language and culture; safeguard religious freedom and end the persecution of Tibetans; stop mass surveillance and protect privacy and freedom of expression; put an end to torture and inhumane treatment in detention facilities; and respect Tibetan culture by allowing traditional festivals to be observed.
Tibetan participants at the event pointed out that the Tibetan people face the deprivation of personal liberty and pervasive surveillance, primarily through the monitoring of mobile devices such as cell phones, as well as arbitrary detention for participating in online religious activities. According to Human Rights Watch reports, since 2021, more than 60 cases of religious persecution have been linked to the CCP’s information surveillance practices. Since 2000, at least 80 Tibetan political prisoners have died in detention as a result of torture and abuse. In its 2025 assessment, Freedom House identified Tibet as one of the least free regions in the world.
Ms. Nordon Pema, President of the GSTF, delivered a speech at the rally. She pointed out that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that the dignity, freedom, and equality of every person must be protected as inviolable. This Declaration not only provides a universal moral and legal framework but also serves as a guide to action for all humanity. However, since the CCP’s occupation of Tibet, about 1.2 million Tibetans have lost their lives due to imprisonment, starvation, torture, executions, and the suppression of uprisings. Since 2006, over two million Tibetans have been forcibly relocated under state resettlement programs, while monasteries and religious objects have been destroyed. These relocations have disrupted traditional ways of life, undermined religious practices and agricultural livelihoods, and violated the right to self-determination as well as the right to protection of cultural and social structures. Such actions violate Articles 13 (freedom of movement), 25 (adequate standard of living), and 27 (participation in cultural life) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To this end, the GSTF called on the United Nations to urge the People’s Republic of China to halt all forced relocations in Tibet and ensure that communities are able to freely decide their place of residence, ways of life, and cultural practices.
Christians Expose CCP’s Ongoing Suppression and Persecution of Religious Belief
Zhang Xuting, a CAG Christian, delivered a speech at the rally on the CCP’s violent suppression and persecution of religious beliefs, as well as its ongoing brutal persecution against CAG Christians. She pointed out that in China, both ethnic minorities and religious groups are subjected to institutionalized, systematic, and long-term persecution by the CCP. Their human rights and freedoms are stripped away, their faith and dignity trampled, and even their lives are placed under grave threat. Since the establishment of The Church of Almighty God over thirty years ago, the CCP has continuously issued various secret documents to carry out systematic arrests, violent forced indoctrination and transformation, and torture and imprisonment of CAG Christians, attempting to completely eradicate the Church. As of June 2025, at least 500,000 CAG Christians have been arrested and persecuted, with at least 307 persecuted to death—precious lives lost one after another under the CCP’s brutal repression. Beginning in 2020, the CCP launched a nationwide three-year “General Battle,” declaring its intent to “completely destroy” The Church of Almighty God, resulting in over 10,000 arrests each year for three consecutive years. In 2023, the CCP launched a three-year “Tough Battle” against the Church, aiming to completely ban the Church and “zero out” CAG Christians. According to current statistics, at least 19,053 CAG Christians were arrested in 2024, a 53% surge from the previous year. At the same time, the proportion of heavy sentences has risen sharply: 76 CAG Christians were sentenced to 8 years or more in prison, including 27 sentenced to over 10 years, with the longest sentence reaching 14 years. In 2024 alone, 9,762 CAG Christians suffered torture or violent forced indoctrination, a 67% increase from the previous year, while the death toll continued to rise. In order to survive and to uphold their faith, many Christians have been forced to flee abroad. Furthermore, the CCP has extended its persecution of religious beliefs overseas, coercing Christians’ relatives, dispatching agents to carry out transnational “kidnappings” of overseas CAG Christians, colluding with pro-CCP elements abroad to smear and attack the Church on domestic and international online platforms, and implementing transnational repression against Christians who have fled overseas, attempting to forcibly repatriate them back to China. This fully demonstrates that the CCP’s control over its citizens has spread into other countries. It is reported that Tibetan people, CAG Christians, and other victims who have fled China still face CCP surveillance and persecution overseas, indicating that China’s human rights threats are spreading to deeper and broader levels. To this end, CAG Christians call on the international community to pay closer attention to China’s human rights situation and take action to stop the CCP’s trampling of human rights and the killing of Christians, so that persecuted Tibetan people, dissidents, and Christians can all enjoy basic human rights and freedoms.
Several Christians were also interviewed at the event.
Hu Mingzhu, a CAG Christian, said: “In China, Christians have no human rights at all. Surveillance cameras are everywhere, monitoring people’s every move. Once the CCP discovers that we believe in God, we face tracking and arrest. This year alone, the CCP has already arrested over 10,000 CAG Christians. I lived in constant fear every day, which caused me severe psychological trauma. Even after coming overseas, I still have nightmares about being pursued by the police.”
Du Caiqin, a CAG Christian, spoke about the ordeal she and her husband, Zhang Yanjun, went through in China. She said: “My husband and I have believed in God for more than ten years. Because of the CCP’s arrests and persecution, we were forced to live in hiding, unable to return home, separated from our family members, and constantly facing the danger of losing our lives. The CCP is truly detestable.”
Zhou Qiaoyun, a CAG Christian, said: “Since the CCP came to power, many leaders and co-workers of house churches have been arrested, imprisoned, and even tortured to death. In 2022, a church brother I knew was arrested during a gathering. The police tortured him for months and even forcibly injected him with psychiatric drugs in an attempt to make him betray God. Christians in China have no way to survive at all.”
Zhang Xiuzhi, a house church Christian, said: “Christians in China have no freedom of religion at all. Even attending a church gathering is extremely difficult. The CCP uses surveillance cameras, drones, and other means to track people who believe in God. They also enter homes to search for Christians under various pretexts such as checking household registrations or inspecting water and electricity meters. They even use students in schools to investigate their family members’ religious beliefs, doing everything possible to identify believers and round them all up. Without caution, we risk arrest at any time. Believing in God in China is simply too hard.”
Shen Dandan, a CAG Christian, said that believing in God in China is extremely difficult. Before she fled China, she knew three young Christian sisters: one was placed on a police wanted list and forced to live in constant hiding, while the other two were both arrested twice, with one of them even sentenced to three years in prison. They were all very young, yet were subjected to such torment. In order to continue practicing their faith, Christians have no choice but to flee abroad. She said that it was only after arriving overseas that she experienced genuine freedom of religion for the first time. She can finally pray in peace and freely and openly attend gatherings and read God’s words—things that, in China, are nothing more than distant hopes and dreams. For this, she said, she is deeply grateful to God.
Shi Qingxia, a CAG Christian, said in the interview that the fellow believers she knew were continuously arrested and subjected to forced indoctrination and torture by the CCP, in an attempt to coerce them into betraying church information and signing the “Three Statements”—the “Statement of Guarantee,” the “Statement of Repentance,” and the “Statement of Severance”—to renounce their faith. One Christian she knew was ultimately sentenced to prison for refusing to sign them. She said that she herself had been listed by the CCP as a key target for arrest, with police using her photograph to track her down. Living under the constant threat of arrest, she had to remain extremely cautious every day, enduring intense psychological pain and pressure. She said that without God’s guidance, she truly does not know whether she would have been able to get through it.
Han Guanglei, a CAG Christian, said: “Freedom of belief is one of the most basic human rights. Through believing in God and reading God’s words, we have come to understand many truths—this is positive. Yet the CCP not only bans us from believing in God, but also carries out large-scale arrests and persecution. Some Christians have even been tortured to death. The CCP is an atheistic regime, and in order to establish ‘atheist zones’ and maintain its rule, it suppresses and persecutes Christians in such a way. It is utterly evil.”
During the event, participants gathered outside the United Nations, chanting slogans that condemned the CCP for depriving people of human rights and persecuting religious beliefs. Particularly striking was a display of 72 photographs of CAG Christians who were persecuted to death—standing as a silent denunciation that laid bare the true human cost of the persecution.
The rally and march lasted over three hours. At 3 p.m., the event concluded, and participants gathered for commemorative group photos. Many participants stated that their effort to defend religious freedom and fundamental human rights will not stop until genuine freedom is realized.
