Qinghai officials crack down on Church of Almighty God cult
Authorities in Qinghai detain core members of cult that promises to save those who give up all possessions before the impending ‘apocalypse’
Authorities on the mainland have stepped up their crackdown on a radical religious sect promising salvation to people who give up their belongings before "doomsday" strikes on Friday.
Police in Xining, capital of the northwestern province of Qinghai, have detained seven "core" members of the Church of the Almighty God, also known as Lightning of the East, and 30 other members in a raid on Thursday night, Qinghai provincial government's official news portal qhnews.com reported yesterday. Police confiscated a lot of illegal material, including pamphlets on the cult, banners, discs and printing equipment, the report said.
Officials in northern Shaanxi province last week detained several sect followers for handing out pamphlets on buses, parks and other public areas. They were asking recruits to hand over all their possessions, according to the Huashang Daily, of Xian.
The report did not say how many people had been arrested, although the Xian Evening News reported on Tuesday that seven people were arrested for handing out doomsday-themed pamphlets on a bus last weekend.
An officer at the Shaanxi Public Security Bureau's publicity office confirmed a crackdown against the group, but declined to provide further details.
The sect did not respond to an inquiry from the Post.
The sect, founded in 1989 in northeastern Heilongjiang province, has denounced the Communist Party as the "great red dragon". It is listed as an "evil cult" by the central government.