A congregation of Chinese Christians seeking asylum abroad is traveling to the U.S. with plans to resettle permanently, capping a three-year quest for a new home outside China that was impeded by repeated legal setbacks and police detention.
The 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, who were detained in Thailand last week for visa violations, have departed the Southeast Asian country for the U.S., a spokeswoman for the United Nations’ refugee agency and a Thai police official told The Wall Street Journal on Friday.
The spokeswoman declined to elaborate. The police official said the 63 congregants left Thailand on a number of flights that departed between late Thursday night and early Friday morning.
A U.S.-based activist who has been assisting the church said the congregants are bound for Dallas, and are likely to arrive by Friday evening. A Texas-based…
