WASHINGTON DC – 1 September 2023 | Jubilee Campaign decries Xi Jinping’s refoulement of 90-100 North Korean refugees in China back to North Korea. The Communist party’s leaders’ actions are in grave violation of international law by sending these children, women and men back to a country where they risk certain torture, certain arbitrary brutal detention and potential public execution.
“Despite the best efforts of many governments and advocates, very tragically our greatest fears have been realized”, the North Korean Freedom Coalition Chair Suzanne Scholte writes, “on August 29th, two buses of refugees crossed the bridge from Dandong to Sinuji with the precious lives of between 90 to 100 refugees now in the balance.”
The North Korea Freedom Coalition Chair Suzanne Scholte calls for action, urging individuals and organisations concerned for the refugees to make an appeal directly to Xi Jinping to stop carrying out this heinous crime by reaching out to their local Chinese Embassy or Consul Office. She also calls on those that are able to join the in-person demonstrations being mobilised in Lafayette Park and the United Nations appealing for the North Korean refugees on Tuesday, (9/5) 1-2:30 pm and Wednesday (9/6) and Thursday (9/7) from 11-12:30 pm EST.
These violations by Xi Jinping come weeks before the annual Save North Korean Refugees Day September 22nd being organized by the North Korea Freedom Coalition. Suzanne Scholte encourages individuals to volunteer on this day and commit to send additional appeals simultaneously to Xi Jinping in solidarity with the North Korean defector-led concerts and demonstrations being held in Seoul on September 22th, the 20th annual North Korea Freedom Week.
Another concrete step individuals can take to signal to Xi Jinping that his actions are unconscionable, is to boycott China, making a pledge to never again purchase anything made in China until the Xi Jinping regime stops its brutal, cruel and inhuman and illegal activity.
Finally Suzanne Scholte calls on individuals to pray for the refugees in peril, that they will prevail, and to pray for those who advocate for them to have wisdom and strategy and perseverance. She recalls how one North Korean refugee detained in China points to how prayers to God opened doors for her and her family to escape, “Let’s pray for more miracles!”