(China – January 3, 2025) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mandates that regulated religious activities must be conducted under organizations it officially recognizes. The authorities exercise strict control over Christianity and Catholicism, implementing so-called “Sinicization” measures for officially-sanctioned churches. For house churches, they employ tactics such as assimilation, intimidation, suppression, and outright bans. Emerging religious groups or fringe groups associated with Christianity face even harsher persecution and prohibition, while groups labeled as cults are met with zero tolerance.
The authorities are determined to suppress and eradicate emerging religious movements, aiming to eliminate what they perceive as threats posed by these groups to China’s social order. The Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee’s Political and Legal Affairs Commission, together with the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau, has launched a reward-based campaign encouraging citizens to report (expose) cult activities. Similar reporting initiatives with slight variations have also been introduced in other cities.
According to China’s Anti-Cult Website, on March 29, 2024, a reward system was introduced in Jingzhou, Hubei Province, for reporting illegal activities related to the “Church of Almighty God” cult. The notice stated that individuals providing information about illegal gatherings or meetings held by the “Church of Almighty God” cult organization within the city could receive rewards ranging from 500 to 5,000 RMB, depending on the specifics of the information provided.
The information mentioned that, to safeguard the safety of people’s lives and property as well as maintain overall social stability, authorities will severely crack down on and deter the illegal and criminal activities of the “Church of Almighty God” cult in accordance with the law. The public notice was issued on March 15, Jingzhou’s Municipal Party Committee’s Political and Legal Affairs Commission and the City’s Public Security Bureau will implement a reward system throughout the city for reporting leads to illegal and criminal activities involving the “Church of Almighty God” cult.
The report stated that information related to illegal gatherings or meetings held by the “Church of Almighty God” cult organization includes:
- Leads regarding individuals associated with the “Church of Almighty God” cult actively spreading its heretical teachings, coercing or deceiving others to join the cult, or preventing others from leaving the cult organization.
- Leads relating to “Church of Almighty God” cult members promoting the cult in schools, educational training institutions, or other venues, as well as instances of cult propaganda targeting minors.
- Leads relating to the production or dissemination of materials promoting the “Church of Almighty God” cult organization, such as images, flyers, slogans, newspapers, books, magazines, audio tapes, CDs, banners, streamers, logos, markers, flags, badges, clothing, items, artifacts, or souvenirs.
- Leads regarding online activities of the “Church of Almighty God” cult organization, including the use of QQ, WeChat, Weibo, TikTok, or other social media platforms to promote cult-related content.
- Leads involving suspicious individuals, activities, or items associated with the “Church of Almighty God” cult organization.
Reporting methods include:
- Directly calling the “110” emergency hotline to report.
- Directly visiting the local police station to report in person or to village/community police officers.
- Send an email to report relevant information to the designated email address of the City’s Public Security Bureau: [email protected].
The announcement states that if the reported leads are verified by the public security authorities, the unit receiving the information will be responsible for filling out a reward application form. The county-level public security agency will determine the validity of the report based on the facts and investigation results and provide rewards accordingly (the reward amount varies depending on the significance of the information that was reported):
- Reward standards include timely reporting of clues related to “Church of Almighty God” cult activities and actively cooperating with the public security authorities, for which a reward of RMB 500 will be granted.
- When individuals discover people involved with the “Church of Almighty God” cult engaging in illegal activities such as posting, distributing, or delivering anti-propaganda materials, directly handing them over to public security authorities, or assisting in their capture, will warrant a reward of RMB 1,000.
- For providing critical information that leads public security authorities to apprehend major planners, organizers, leaders, or key members of the “Church of Almighty God” cult organization, a reward of RMB 5,000 will be awarded.
- For reports made by family members or close friends of “Church of Almighty God” cult members regarding insider information or in-depth illegal activity leads of the organization, verified by public security authorities, reward will be granted accordingly.
The anti-cult website requires informants to provide their real name and contact information, and ask the informants to ensure and exercise caution in their reporting methods and prioritize their own safety:
- Informants should retain relevant materials and evidence to facilitate verification by public security authorities and ensure the reward can be issued. Rewards will not be given in the following cases: Anonymous reports, false identities, unverifiable reports, unclear information, or cases where the reported leads have already been investigated and resolved by public security authorities.
- If one person reports the same lead to multiple places, only one place will give the reward after verification of the facts. Multiple reports of the same lead by a single individual will result in only one reward, after excluding the possibility of malicious intent, and determined based on facts, the reward will be given accordingly. If the same lead is reported simultaneously by multiple individuals, only the first informant will be rewarded.
- Upon receiving a report, public security authorities and local officers will process it in accordance with legal procedures and verify the information. Strict confidentiality will be maintained regarding informant details, and their personal and property safety will be legally protected.
- Informants must truthfully report information regarding illegal activities of the “Church of Almighty God” cult. If an informant is found to use the guise of reporting to falsely accuse or harm others, extort those reported, fabricate or spread false information, or falsely report incidents to the police, public security authorities will pursue the corresponding legal responsibilities of the informant in accordance with the law.
The emerging religious group “Church of Almighty God” has been classified as a cult in China. In Hubei Province, this reporting initiative is explicitly overseen and executed by the Communist Party’s Jingzhou Municipal Committee Political and Legal Affairs Commission and the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau. The government has subjected the “Church of Almighty God” group to criminal accountability, rather than handling it through conventional administrative channels such as the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau, Civil Affairs Bureau, or other local administrative or community organizations.
On November 22, the Anti-Cult Association of Liaoning Province, China, issued a notice regarding rewards for reporting illegal activities related to the “Church of Almighty God” cult organization. The announcement stated that the “Church of Almighty God” cult, also known as “Eastern Lightning” or “The Practical God,” was officially identified in 1995 as a cult organization operating under the guise of Christianity. To encourage public participation in preventing and combating illegal activities of cult organizations and to create a strong societal effort to resist cults, it was decided to launch a province-wide reward system for reporting illegal activities of the “Church of Almighty God” cult. The campaign ran until December 31, 2024. Recently, a similar initiative was launched by the police in Lhasa, Tibet, where authorities publicly solicited tips about illegal cult-related activities.
The term cult (or evil religion) traditionally refers to non-orthodox ideas or doctrines that oppose traditional religious teachings. Due to the subjective and controversial nature of the term, many scholars have shifted to using the more neutral concept of “new religious movements” to avoid pejorative implications. However, the Chinese government continues to use the term cult, which is sometimes extended to include other Christian groups outside state-sanctioned religious organizations. Officially recognized religious groups and their activities are generally excluded from this designation.
When legal and bureaucratic measures to counter perceived religious threats fail to achieve the desired level of suppression, the government increasingly emphasizes public warnings and incentivized reporting programs to involve citizens in its efforts.
Anti-cult propaganda in China is quite widespread. The promotion of official anti-cult measures and the penalties for failing to comply with regulations have long been tools for controlling society. The anti-cult campaign primarily serves as a preventive measure, clearly defining the boundaries of religious activities that the government in Beijing deems unacceptable.
Authorities have openly established “anti-cult warning education bases” within Christian churches.
Pastor Bob Fu, chairman of the China Aid Association, believes that under the collusion of state-controlled religious organizations, while the aim is supposedly to combat the “Church of Almighty God” cult, ordinary people cannot distinguish this from regular house churches. Therefore, the true purpose is likely to be the disruption of the house church movement.
The Communist Party of China has fought against religion throughout its history, regularly launching severe crackdowns on what it considers superstitious and irrational beliefs, viewing these beliefs as contrary to science and progress. For decades, China has used law enforcement measures to harass religious groups not sanctioned by the government, many of which are benign.
Despite China’s constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion or belief, the Communist Party of China has been accused of violating religious freedom and cracking down on religious groups, making the communist country one of the worst offenders of religious freedom in the world.
Overview of the Church of Almighty God
The Church of Almighty God (also known as Eastern Lightning) originated as a Christian cult in mainland China, allegedly linked to Zhao Weishan from Harbin and several members of the group. This group is considered a cult by the government of the People’s Republic of China. It is active abroad and has caused certain disruptions to traditional Christianity and its followers. The church is based on Christianity, claiming to follow the word of Almighty God, and its primary beliefs are recorded in the book “The Word Appears in the Flesh,” which is also the most important evangelistic text of the group. Given the significant differences between this group’s beliefs and traditional Christianity, nearly all Christian denominations consider it a heresy. Since 1995, the People’s Republic of China has classified the church as a cult. The Church Almighty God has declared that it will fight to the end against the government of the People’s Republic of China.
(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid)