A new report from DailyNK says that China has reaffirmed that it does not believe North Korean refugees are, in fact, refugees. The
DailyNK source reportedthat Chinese police in Liaoning province said that China “would never recognize North Koreans as refugees and that this policy will never change.”
This echoes what Open Doors experts have seen from China. “China doesn’t view them as refugees who need to be protected under the
Human Rights Declaration but as illegal immigrants who can be repatriated,” says Simon Lee*, Open Doors’ coordinator for North Korea ministry.
Article 14 of the United Nations’ Human Rights Declaration—
of which China is a signatory—guarantees the right of all people to seek asylum. If
China recognized
North Korean defectors as refugees, they would be compelled to help them. But instead, they can send them back to North Korea, where they will face questioning—and potential imprisonment or even execution.
Among these refugees are also Christians or people who have been in touch with churches, pastors or missionaries. These contacts mean they could be punished even more severely. “Every person who is arrested in China and then sent back will be tortured and interrogated,” Lee says. “The interrogators will ask if you have seen a Bible, if you’ve been to church or if you have met with any missionaries. If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, they will try to find out if you’ve become a Christian. The more mature of a Christian you are, the heavier the punishment. In a worst-case scenario, you’ll be sent to a labor camp for political prisoners with no chance to be released.”
Lee confirms that tensions are growing in China among refugees. “There have been waves of arrests and repatriations,” he says. “Others have been warned. Especially women who are married to Chinese men. They’re told to keep a low profile and don’t cause any ‘social unrest.’ They are often sold into marriage and though life is hard for them, it’s often better than the lives they led in North Korea. Also, they may be able to help their families [still in North Korea].”
But what is “social unrest”? “This can mean anything,” Lee explains. “Anything you do wrong can be seen as creating social unrest. Fighting with someone, complaining about your husband, selling something illegal, sleeping around, but also visiting a Christian gathering. These women always live under stress.”
What happens if you are caught
Open Doors spoke to a North Korean Christian, So Young*, who explained what she went through after she was arrested. She was a refugee in China. “I was about to attend a meeting of other Christian, North Korean refugees,” she told us. “I didn’t know they had been arrested a day earlier. When I opened the door, suddenly someone grabbed my hands. It was a police officer.
“I was shocked, paralyzed. I didn’t know what was happening to me. They brought me to a nearby police station by car. On the way, I asked: ‘Why have you arrested me?’
“They laughed and said: ‘You made a wrong friend.’”
So Young was in a Chinese prison for only one week and had to give a statement about why she had come to China, if she was married (she was) and why she attended the Bible study.
“I was lucky that I wasn’t arrested together with the other ladies,” she said. “They couldn’t deny they had attended Bible study. Their stories had to match, and that’s why they stayed in China much longer. I said that I wasn’t married and that I just came to visit a friend when I was caught. I told them I didn’t know anything about a Bible study. After a week, they concluded their investigation and decided to send me back to North Korea.”
She was handcuffed and brought to a van. “The car drove to a bridge and stopped right in the middle,” she told us. “On the other side of the bridge, North Korean officials waited for me. They took me to a police station operated by the Secret Security Agency, the SSA. The police required me to write a report about my family background and my time in China. I told them I didn’t remember everything from my family, but they already knew exactly who I was and who my family was.”
She told them and the judge at her hearing that she had come to China to earn money. Because So Young never admitted she went to a Bible study, she was only punished for illegally crossing the border. She wasn’t sent to a labor camp for political prisoners, but to a re-education camp. Her final sentence was five years forced labor and re-education.
‘I didn’t want to die there’
Even with such a relatively “light” sentence—compared to what she would have received if they had discovered her faith—life in the camp was horrific. Each night, she endured hours of ideological training. Prisoners who worked as miners often had a life expectancy of only a few months. So Young was given the task of making wigs to sell, so she had some expectation of survival.
“We slept on an old floor, but were not provided a blanket,” she recalled. “If we didn’t make [our work quota], or if someone made another mistake, we were all punished. They forced us to stand outside in the rain for two or three hours.”
So Young saw people die and knew that death was everywhere in the camp. “This place where I was living, was the most horrible place on earth,” she said. “I really didn’t want to die here.”
Eventually, she was released and managed to escape to China again. She reunited with her Chinese husband and son, who were never discovered by authorities. Later, the family went to South Korea where she lives now. So Young’s story is not abnormal—and will continue to be a common experience as China rejects the reality of North Korean refugees.
The situation seems hopeless. But So Young and other North Korean Christians show that the light of Jesus in North Korea still shines in the darkness. Open Doors estimates there are 400,000 Christians in the country, each knowing they could be imprisoned or killed if their faith is discovered.
Please pray for these believers, and for those who have fled and are trying to find stability. Pray they will not be captured. Pray China will change their mindset about these refugees. And pray that God will be glorified, no matter what.
*Name changed to protect security; top image is representative only
