Bitter Winter

by Mia Li* *A paper presented at the European Academy of Religion’s Ninth Annual Conference, LUISS University of Rome, July 3, 2026. Mia Li presenting her paper in Rome. I address you both as a Christian of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) and as a refugee who was compelled to leave China because of my religious beliefs. I want to share with you the reality of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of our Church. My presentation will focus on three themes.

by Massimo Introvigne* *Introduction to the webinar “A Legal Victory, an Administrative Injustice: The 19th anniversary of Tai Ji Men Supreme Court Acquittal,” co-organized by CESNUR and Human Rights Without Frontiers on July 13, 2026. A Yenish family in 1928. Credits. Nineteen years have passed since the Supreme Court of Taiwan issued its landmark acquittal declaring Tai Ji Men innocent of all criminal charges, including tax evasion.

by Massimo Introvigne Be Scofield and her new book. Sometimes, I meet respected religious leaders who tell me that I am unduly concerned with campaigns accusing “cults” of “brainwashing,” “coercive control,” or “human trafficking.” After all, the argument goes, these campaigns concern marginal religious organizations. Mainline religion is different and, by implication, safe.

by Dolkun Isa Delegates at the Berlin Forum. Ten years have passed since the Chinese government launched one of the most extensive campaigns of mass repression in the twenty-first century. At the beginning in 2016, millions of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in Xinjiang/East Turkistan were arbitrarily detained in a vast network of internment camps. While some of these facilities have since been closed or rebranded, the policies that gave rise to them have not disappeared.

by Daniela Bovolenta The webinar’s poster. The webinar “A Legal Victory, an Administrative Injustice,” coorganized by CESNUR and Human Rights Without Frontiers on July 13, 2026, the 19th anniversary of Tai Ji Men’s victory at Taiwan’s Supreme Court on July 13, 2007, opened with Massimo Introvigne, Italian sociologist and managing director of CESNUR.

by Yoyo Ng Au Kam San. Credits. For years, observers of Chinese politics have focused on Hong Kong as the place where the National Security Law reshaped public life. Macau received less attention, perhaps because its civil society was smaller or its political debates less visible. Yet the case of Au Kam San shows how the same legal architecture operates in Macau with determination and how its enforcement reaches figures who once embodied the territory’s democratic aspirations.

by Masumi Fukuda* *Address delivered at a press conference on the theme “Japan: The Hidden Story Behind the Eradication of a Religion,” organized by Human Rights Without Frontiers at the Brussels Press Club in Brussels, Belgium, June 29, 2026. Article 3 of 3. Read article 1 and article 2. The author at the Brussels press conference with Willy Fautré, co-founder and director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, introducing her book “Sacrifice to the Nation.” Photo by FOREF.

by Massimo Introvigne Rogue Chinese-Filipino businessman Michael Yang. The report documents his connections with the United Front. Credits. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime has released a study with a somewhat academic title, yet its contents describe a world that reads like a crime novel.

by Kenny Jeng* *A paper presented at the Fourth World Conference for Religious Dialogue and Cooperation, Skopje, North Macedonia, June 24, 2026. Peter Snayers (1592–1667), “The Battle of the White Mountain” Fought in 1620 in Bohemia, it was a key moment of Europe’s wars of religion. Credits. Religion is often envisioned as a sanctuary of peace and harmony, yet history shows it can also be used as a tool of conflict.

Wang Yu-Ran* *A paper presented at the Fourth World Conference for Religious Dialogue and Cooperation, Skopje, North Macedonia, June 24, 2026. Tax and Legal Reform League protests in Taiwan. Today, I stand before you not as an expert or a government representative, but as a law student and a young person who has personally experienced institutionalized religious conflict. This dual identity gives me a unique perspective.