60 Christians from China turn to Czech Republic for 'religious persecution' asylum

At least 60 Chinese Christians fled to the Czech Republic to seek asylum from alleged religious persecutions just as China garners criticisms over human rights abuses.

Czech newspaper Hospodářské noviny reported Aug. 3 about the 60 Chinese asylum-seekers, who claim to be members of 10 different denominations and fled religious persecution from their home country. They arrived in the central European country in batches between February and May, and they presently stationed at a detention facility in east Bohemia and another in a far eastern region. They're reported to be unusually guarded and appear fearful for retaliations on family members left in China.

According to Asia Today, the Communist state denounced the Chinese asylum-seekers in the Czech Republic through Monday's report on Global Times as mere illegal immigrants only disguised as Christians.

Radio Prague also reported that Martin Rozumek, director of the non-government organization Aid to Refugees, told Hospodářské noviny that he believed the applications may be unsuccessful because Czech's Ministry of the Interior adopted an approach that seeks to discourage asylum seekers.

Czech has granted asylum to only six Chinese nationals in the past half-decade before the administration of Czech President Milos Zeman, who chose to better relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

According to China Aid's interview in May with a Christian member of a persecuted house church in China, many people outside China refuse to believe the ongoing religious persecution in the eastern Asian country.

"I know a lot of Chinese students are resistant to the idea that there's religious persecution in China. They believe that it's just U.S. propaganda, and even some Americans think that it's not that bad," said a China Aid member.

The country also came under fire after convicting two house church leaders and two other human rights activists, detained during its nationwide political crackdown last year, in unannounced and highly suspect trials.

"The charade of forced 'confessions' and show trials immeasurably damages the Chinese government's global standing and obliterates any remaining confidence in President Xi's ability to foster the rule of law in China," said U.S. Representative Christopher Smith and also added, "These developments should come as no surprise as lawyers, Christian 'house church' leaders, and democracy advocates were all identified in 2012 as enemies of the state."

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, Smith's co-chair for the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), also denounced China

"China cannot continue to benefit from the international rules-based system, while making a mockery of the rule of law at home," said Rubio.