{"id":39248,"date":"2021-11-09T13:14:50","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T04:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=39248"},"modified":"2021-11-09T14:46:14","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T05:46:14","slug":"vomk-report-178","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2021\/11\/09\/vomk-report-178\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeju “Mayflower Church\u201d denied asylum, faces potential repatriation to China and persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”39233″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”The South Korean government has denied the second appeal for asylum for the 60 members of Shenzen Holy Reformed Church, including its Pastor Pan Yongguang. The group, dubbed the \u201cMayflower Church\u201d by global religious freedom advocates, fled China in 2019 for Jeju Island, where they have been supporting themselves by doing menial labor during their asylum process. According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, the denial means the group must leave Korea and return to China in the next few weeks. Representative Foley says Voice of the Martyrs Korea has been training the group for the past two years how to respond to the persecution experts believe they are likely to face upon their return.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span>original ship called the Mayflower carried 102 Pilgrims to the\u00a0<\/span>\u2018<\/span>New World<\/span>\u2019 in 1620<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as they fled persecution in England,\u201d said Representative Foley. \u201cThis \u2018modern-day Mayflower\u2019 group looks like they will not be granted the religious freedom they were seeking<\/span>\u00a0here in Korea<\/span>, but\u00a0<\/span>they still have\u00a0<\/span>freedom in Christ, which no government can take away.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that the congregation<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>continues to trust God despite\u00a0<\/span>the denial of their request. \u201cThey are a well-trained congregation, not only by us\u00a0<\/span>through our persecution training\u00a0<\/span>but also by Pan\u00a0<\/span>Yongguang<\/span>, their pastor. The<\/span>\u00a0pastor and church members<\/span>\u00a0continue to pray that God may yet open a door for asylum in another country like the U.S., but they\u00a0<\/span>are fully prepared to be faithful witnesses to Christ no matter what the cost if the Lord sends them back to China.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”39237″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Dr. Foley teaches the Mayflower church about ways they can Biblically handle the trauma they received as a result of persecution.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”39241″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”These Mayflower Church children practice the principles of worship so that their families can participate in daily family worship in their homes.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that Pastor\u00a0<\/span>Pan\u00a0<\/span>founded the church\u00a0<\/span>in 2012\u00a0<\/span>under the oversight of\u00a0<\/span>Philadelphia Bible Reformed Church<\/span>\u00a0in the United States<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Because of his connection to the foreign religious group, Pastor Pan\u00a0<\/span>began to be interrogated by authorities at least twice a week beginning in 2014.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>When Pastor Pan refused to affiliate the church with the\u00a0<\/span>Chinese Communist Party-approved Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TPSM)<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>authorities pressured the landlord of the building where the church<\/span>-run\u00a0<\/span>elementary school was located to\u00a0<\/span>evict them. Church members didn\u2019t want\u00a0<\/span>to send\u00a0<\/span>their children\u00a0<\/span>to state-run schools<\/span>\u00a0to be indoctrinated into atheism and communism, so they voted to flee China as a whole church in 2019.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that t<\/span>he group<\/span>, which consists of<\/span>\u00a0twenty-eight adults and thirty-two children<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0posed as tourists and arrived\u00a0<\/span>on\u00a0<\/span>Jeju\u00a0<\/span>Island with almost nothing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>In order to avoid being detained during their departure, they had not communicated their plan to anyone, including us,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span>We learned about them and met them for the first time\u00a0<\/span>after they arrived<\/span>. A<\/span>long with\u00a0<\/span>China Aid and other international organizations\u00a0<\/span>which\u00a0<\/span>help\u00a0<\/span>persecuted Christians,\u00a0<\/span>we\u2019ve done what we can to help them<\/span>. Churches in Jeju have also done a lot. Everyone who meets this group loves them, because they are completely non-political<\/span>\u00a0and they are all hard-working<\/span>. They really just want to worship God freely and educate their children\u00a0<\/span>to love and serve the Lord.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”39243″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Pastor Pan is pictured with one of the youngest Mayflower Church members.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that i<\/span>n June,\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>South Korea<\/span>n government<\/span>\u00a0denied the<\/span>ir original\u00a0<\/span>asylum<\/span>\u00a0request<\/span>. The<\/span>y<\/span>\u00a0filed an appeal shortly afterward<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0but\u00a0<\/span>according to Representative Foley\u00a0<\/span>they\u00a0<\/span>were denied a second time on October 5th.\u00a0<\/span>Facing a deportation to China on October 19th, they filed yet another appeal,\u00a0<\/span>in order<\/span>\u00a0not be sent back to China. \u201cThey are uncertain as to how long they can stay in South Korea,\u201d says Representative Foley, noting that South Korea only accepted an estimated 0.4% of refugees in 2020.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says\u00a0<\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u00a0<\/span>concurs with other China persecution watchdog groups\u00a0<\/span>China Aid and Christian Solidarity Worldwide\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>if\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Mayflower Church<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0return<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0to China, the<\/span>y will be subject to\u00a0<\/span>extreme punishment<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0including imprisonments, forced disappearances, and torture.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Recently<\/span>, the CCP\u00a0<\/span>ha<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0questioned three of the church\u2019s members\u00a0<\/span>who remained in China when the group\u00a0<\/span>fled<\/span>, demanding information about the group and also demanding that the members break off\u00a0<\/span>all\u00a0<\/span>contact with them.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”39246″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Pastor Foley of VOM Korea talks with Pastor Pan about the Christian persecution in China.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says\u00a0<\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea will continue to stand with the church and share their story, no matter where the<\/span>y are sent. \u201cWe\u2019ve come to\u00a0<\/span>deeply\u00a0<\/span>love and respect Pastor Pan and each of the church members since we first met them and learned of their story\u00a0<\/span>when they arrived here in 2019. We\u2019ve trained not only the adults but even the young children\u00a0<\/span>again and again\u00a0<\/span>what the B<\/span>i<\/span>ble teaches about persecution in the life of the believer.\u00a0<\/span>We know that even if God sends them back to China,\u00a0<\/span>it is only because he has an even bigger plan and purpose for them<\/span>, and they will be faithful<\/span>. Four hundred years after the original Mayflower\u00a0<\/span>Pilgrims<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Christians still remember and are inspired by their story. We will do our best to continue to tell the story of these \u2018modern Mayflower<\/span>\u00a0Christians\u2019\u00a0<\/span>to inspire and challenge people\u00a0<\/span>here in our country and around the world.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Individuals interested in donating to Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s work in partnership with the house church\u202fChristians\u202fof China\u202fcan\u202fvisit\u202f<\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/donate<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u202f.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please note \u201cChina\u201d on\u202fall donations<\/span>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”39233″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”The South Korean government has denied the second appeal for asylum for the 60 members of Shenzen Holy Reformed Church, including its Pastor Pan Yongguang. The group, …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":39234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}