Chinese Christian asylum seekers reported heading to US

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — A religious freedom activist says more than 60 asylum-seeking members of a Chinese Christian church who were detained last week in Thailand are en route to the United States. The 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, who have been in Thailand since last September, were arrested last week in the seaside city of Pattaya for overstaying their visas, fined, and then taken to Bangkok, where they were detained in immigration facilities. The members of the church fled China, where they said they faced unbearable harassment, in 2019. Police confirmed that they left Thailand on Thursday night. They are expected to arrive in Dallas, Texas, on Friday.