According to a recent US Commission hearing, China has been working together with North Korea to persecute Christians.
Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the non-governmental Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), spoke at a hearing of the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Sept. 26 and the update that he gave about Christians in China and North Korea was shocking.
According to his testimony, the two Communist nations of China and North Korea work together to repatriate North Korean refugees, which, for many, is almost a guaranteed death sentence.
“Upon returning back into North Korea, one of the first questions they will be asked by authorities is whether they have met with a missionary during their time in China” said Hanna Song at the hearing, confirming the testimony of Mr. Scarlatoiu. Ms. Song is the executive director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB). “This question is not merely a formality. The answer determines the severity of punishment they will endure. If an individual admits to or is found to have had contact with a missionary, particularly one affiliated with Christianity, they’re often subject to the harshest forms of torture and imprisonment.”
China has worked together with North Korea to subject hundreds of people to some of the most gruesome atrocities like torture, sexual violence, enslavement and murder.
Investigations have shown those that are repatriated from China to North Korean detention centers are often subjected to slavery. “China continually supplies slaves for detention facilities,” Joanna Hosaniak reported. Hosaniak is the deputy director general of the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR). “Both political prison camps, which are operated mostly by the MSS [Ministry of State Security], and long-term prisons operated by MPS [Ministry of Public Security], are major production sites that produce goods for export: Textiles, fake eyelashes, labeled ‘Made in China.’”
Hosaniak said testimonies from refugees revealed China was using facial recognition technology to track down migrants in China, and that officials rewarded those who report people aiding them.
It is clear that this is not a situation about illegal immigration, but that China shares North Korea’s desire to punish Christians.
