Thai police say Chinese church members to be deported soon

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Officials say more than 60 self-exiled members of a Chinese Christian church who were detained in Thailand after receiving U.N. refugee status will be deported by next week, probably to a third country. Deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn says Thailand’s Foreign Ministry and Immigration Bureau are holding talks with the U.N. Refugee Agency and the U.S. Embassy to discuss the fate of the members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church who were taken to court last week for overstaying their visas. He says it is not yet known where they will be sent, The members of the church, also known as the Mayflower Church, say they faced unbearable harassment in China and have been seeking asylum in the United States.