RALLIES AT CHINESE CONSULATES FOCUS ON INHUMANE TREATMENT

The Chinese-North Korea border is guarded by the best North Korean soldiers. On the Chinese side, there are miles of fences and cameras have been installed. North Korea, too, is in the process of erecting fences. In addition, the North Korean army has laid booby traps—pits with bamboo spikes in them. Fleeing is practically impossible now, unless you have a paid “guide” and you bribe the soldiers on the North Korean side....

North Korean Jong-Cheol (not his real name) grew up without a father, who died at a young age. He was brought up by his mother and grandmother, who were both Christians. When he was small, Jong-Cheol’s grandmother told him Bible stories. Like many other children in famished North Korea, he started to roam around the country. One day he crossed the border into China. In China, he was taken in by a Chinese missionary. There Jong-Cheol came to faith in Jesus Christ. He also realized that his mother and grandmother had already been Christians. Eventually he was captured along with several other children. The Chinese police arrested them and they were forcibly repatriated to North Korea as thousands of children and adults are every year. There the children were rigorously interrogated on a daily basis. One of the children snapped and told police that Jong-Cheol was a Christian. The North Koreans executed Jong-Cheol because he refused to deny he was a believer. The Chinese-North Korea border is guarded by the best North Korean soldiers. On the Chinese side, there are miles of fences and cameras have been installed. North Korea, too, is in the process of erecting fences. Besides this, the North Korean army has laid booby traps – pits with bamboo spikes in them. Fleeing is practically impossible now, unless you have a paid “guide” and you bribe the soldiers on the North Korean side. As a result of the treatment of North Korean refugees by China, the North Korea Freedom Coalition – which includes Open Doors USA – is planning an International Protest Against China’s Violent Repatriation of North Korean Refugees. On Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1, protests and prayer vigils will be held at Chinese consulates in major cities around the world."The protests are a way of pressuring the Chinese government to comply with their obligations under the U.N. Convention on Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol,” says Open Doors USA Advocacy Coordinator Lindsay Vessey. “Under this convention, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should have access to the North Koreans refugees hiding in China – estimated at 100,000 to 300,00 – and be able to protect and help them find asylum in other countries like the U.S. and South Korea. Yet, China is deporting refugees back to North Korea where they face terrible punishment…death like Jong-Cheol suffered or long prison terms.“The Chinese government needs to know that Christians around the world are aware and care about the government’s flagrant human rights violations and that we are committed to praying and assisting these refugees. Please consider joining those around the world protesting against this injustice and praying for the refugees, many of whom are Christians.” Suzanne Scholte, Chairman of the North Korean Freedom Coalition, adds: For several years both the Chinese and North Korean authorities have implemented measures to close the border. Currently the Chinese authorities are working more aggressively with North Korean agents to hunt down and repatriate the North Korean refugees. We have heard several reports that North Korean agents are posing as refugees to draw out both humanitarian workers and true refugees as part of this escalating crackdown. Even refugees in jail are being used as "bait" to draw out potential rescuers, so that Chinese authorities can arrest them.“How ironic that this crackdown has intensified because of China's concerns over the upcoming Olympic Games. China cannot risk the world community seeing with their own eyes China's horrific treatment of the North Koreans, so they hope to eliminate the problem by forcing them back to face torture and imprisonment and even execution for fleeing their homeland. How ironic that an event promoting good will among nations is causing the Chinese to treat their neighbors with increasing brutality!”The schedule for the International Protest Against China's Violent Treatment of North Korean Refugees includes (all events start at noon local time):Friday, Nov. 30:
Los Angeles – 443 Shatto Place
New York City – 520 12th Ave. (corner of 12th and 42nd Street)
Washington DC – 2300 Connecticut Ave., N.W., petition delivery and dramatization of plight of North Korean refugees
Saturday, Dec. 1:
Chicago – 100 West Erie St.
Washington DC – 2300 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
Houston – 3417 Montrose Blvd
San Francisco – 1450 Laguna St.
Other protests are being organized in such countries as Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Holland, Sprain, South Korea and United Kingdom. Click here for more information on the events. Vessey adds that North Korea has been ranked No. 1 on the annual Open Doors World Watch List for five straight years. The World Watch List ranks 50 countries where Christians suffer the most severe persecution.The North Korea Freedom Coalition is a bipartisan coalition of religious, human rights and non-governmental Korean and American organizations whose primary purpose is to bring freedom to the North Korean people and to ensure that the human rights component of United States and world policy towards North Korea receives priority attention. The North Korea Freedom Coalition Web site is http://www.nkfreedom.org/. Click to register for the Open Doors’ North Korea Prayer Campaign. You will be asked to sign up and pick a weekly 10-minute time frame when you can lift up North Korean Christians in prayer. You will also receive a weekly email update of the current prayer requests.

Source:Open Doors

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