CultNEWS101 Articles: 1/22/2026
Patrick Ryan
"A development project in Cambodia promoted by the Unification Church faces a criminal investigation following evidence emerged suggesting it was used to favor the personal commercial interests of a former high-ranking church with close ties to figures of the previous administration from South Korea.
Researchers have identified indications that the project, promoted by the Federation for Universal Peace (commonly known as the Unification Church), was effectively privatized by Yun Young-ho, former head of the church's world headquarters. Yun was charged and arrested last year on charges including bribery, illegal lobbying, and embezzlement of church funds."
"A former follower of a fringe Christian organisation says "special force teams" are recruiting members in Ballarat, Bendigo, Darwin, Geelong and Melbourne to expand its church's reach.
The Shincheonji Church of Jesus has been described as an "apocalyptic Christian cult", with the ABC previously uncovering members being brainwashed, spending as much time as possible recruiting others out of fear and the belief that they are doing God's work.
Followers believe Jesus's return is imminent and that only true believers who have heard God's word through the group's founder, 94-year-old Lee Man-hee, will be saved from the apocalypse.
Shincheonji is growing, with its website claiming to have churches in more than 100 countries and a congregation of more than 300,000 members."
Religion Unplugged: China Banned This Religion — And Now It’s Coming For Hong Kong
A 2024 paper stated that police officers reportedly asked Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong to take down posters saying, “Heaven will destroy the Communist Party.”
Falun Gong practitioners working in the territory’s media or online news sector have also been affected by the crackdown.
In 2021, a printing warehouse for the Epoch Times Hong Kong edition, an outlet associated with Falun Gong, faced an arson attack by four masked attackers armed with batons. In 2021, Hong Kong current affairs host Rachel Wong was reportedly threatened by Chinese police after she discussed the forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners on one of her YouTube channels.
Officers allegedly contacted her relatives in mainland China, urging them to pressure Wong to stop her broadcasts. Attacks on Falun Gong information booths have also become increasingly common. In 2019, two individuals assaulted a Falun Gong practitioner in Hong Kong shortly after she met with police to discuss an upcoming demonstration.
In Macau, Falun Gong adherents were stopped from setting up information stalls at the Ruins of St. Paul's, claiming they obstructed pedestrian movement, a 2022 report by the U.S. Department of State revealed.
Although the Falun Gong practitioners reported that they continued to be able to discuss their beliefs openly with Macau residents, some media reports, especially the Chinese-language newspaper Ta Kung Pao, portrayed Falun Gong members negatively.
The newspaper has accused Falun Gong of ignoring the law and order in Hong Kong, inciting hatred, promoting anti-communism, infiltrating the community on all fronts and “poisoning” the people of Hong Kong. In one article, the newspaper urged the Hong Kong SAR government to ban Falun Gong."
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