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In a dramatic turn of events that underscores the ongoing crackdown on unregistered religious groups and legal advocates in mainland China, a lawyer who represented one of the nation’s largest underground Christian congregations has escaped to Taiwan, where she is now urgently seeking international support for permanent resettlement.

Ruth Wang, a partner at the Beijing-based VDoor Law Firm, joined the legal defense team for leaders and members of Beijing’s Zion Church shortly after a mass arrest of 18 church affiliates, including its founder Ezra Jin, in October 2025. The sweeping detention was one of the largest single operations against an unregistered house church in modern Chinese history. In an exclusive video interview with the Associated Press conducted from her temporary base in Taiwan, Wang detailed the mounting coercive pressure Chinese authorities have placed on her firm, her colleagues, and herself in recent months.

According to Wang, authorities delivered an ultimatum: the entire firm must voluntarily dissolve, or it would be forcibly shut down by state regulators. The pressure campaign against VDoor has been building for months. Zhang Kai, the firm’s founder and Wang’s legal mentor, has already had his legal license revoked and been placed under an exit ban barring him from leaving mainland China. Six-month practice suspensions have been issued to multiple other attorneys at the firm, and judicial officials have ordered all lawyers to drop their representation of Zion Church-linked cases and resign from the firm. Wang added that even VDoor attorneys seeking to transfer to other legal practices have faced bureaucratic barriers blocking their moves.

The crackdown on the firm followed the high-profile 2025 arrest of Jin and 17 other Zion Church leaders. Jin was released from detention two months prior to Wang’s escape, after then-U.S. President Donald Trump raised his case during a high-level meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But Wang’s escape makes clear that repression of the church and all those affiliated with it has not ended with Jin’s release.

Founded by Jin in 2007, Zion Church is one of China’s most prominent unregistered “house churches,” religious congregations that operate outside the strict state controls requiring all religious worship to be held under the supervision of government-approved registered organizations. U.S.-based Chinese pastor Sean Long, a member of Zion Church who studies abroad, estimated last year that the network had roughly 5,000 members spread across more than 100 informal worship venues, ranging from private apartments and commercial restaurants to karaoke bars across 40 Chinese cities.

Wang, who was on summer vacation with her family in Japan last month, says that Chinese authorities contacted her during the trip and demanded she return to Beijing for an in-person meeting. After telling regulators she could not comply, Wang made the decision not to return to mainland China, and traveled onward with her family to Taiwan. In an interview, Wang laid out the dilemma she faced: “If, as a partner in the firm, I don’t cooperate and sign to dissolve it, what will happen next? I believe it will definitely seriously affect my career development and other aspects of my life.”

Bob Fu, founder of U.S.-based human rights nonprofit ChinaAid, says Wang’s case lays bare the extraordinary risks that legal professionals face when they choose to defend marginalized religious groups and prisoners of conscience in China. “Attorney Wang sought to fulfill the most basic responsibility of a lawyer,” Fu said. “Yet because her clients include detained leaders associated with Beijing Zion Church, she came to fear that she herself could become the next target.” Fu has called on Taiwan’s government to grant Wang and her family protection and prevent their forced repatriation to mainland China, while also urging the U.S. and other democratic governments to stand by ready to support long-term resettlement.

Multiple Chinese authorities, including the national Public Security Bureau and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice, declined to comment on the case when contacted by the AP. The American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto diplomatic mission on the island, also has not issued a public response to requests for comment.

After arriving at a Taiwanese airport with her family, Wang applied to local authorities for temporary permission to stay while she reaches out to third countries for permanent resettlement. Taiwanese officials have allowed her to remain on the island temporarily, but have informed Wang that the current cross-strait political climate means Taipei cannot process political asylum claims from mainland Chinese citizens. Beijing claims Taiwan as an inalienable part of its sovereign territory, and cross-strait relations have deteriorated sharply in recent years under the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party government.

Unlike most democratic nations, Taiwan lacks a formal statutory refugee and asylum framework, and has tightened its screening of migrants from mainland China amid growing security concerns. In recent years, Taipei has rejected permanent residency applications from some Hong Kong migrants fleeing Beijing’s expanded national security crackdown, and increased scrutiny of cross-strait spouses seeking immigration to the island. In a written statement, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council noted that while no formal asylum law exists, the government has an ad hoc mechanism to handle exceptional cases such as Wang’s and will process her request in accordance with existing protocols.

Wang is currently exploring multiple resettlement pathways, including pursuing study opportunities in the United States or Canada as a route to permanent relocation for her family. If those options fail, she plans to file a formal asylum claim in a third country. Speaking about her family’s current situation, Wang acknowledged profound uncertainty: “I feel that our family is currently facing an uncertain future, and we don’t know what will happen in the future, or whether there is anywhere that can accommodate us.” Drawing on a story from the Book of Ruth in the Bible — the same source as her English name — Wang said she holds onto faith that support will emerge, just as God provided the protector Boaz for the biblical Ruth when she was displaced and adrift. “I also believe that God will give (me) such a person,” she said.

Thailand’s sun-soaked coastal resort city of Pattaya welcomed busloads of crew members from the U.S. Navy’s USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier on Thursday, marking the first shore stop for the strike group after an unprecedentedly long deployment supporting American operations in the Middle East. The nuclear-powered carrier spent a historic 264 consecutive days at sea before docking at Laem Chabang port in Chonburi province on Wednesday, capping a total deployment of 286 days to date, per official figures from the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. Two other vessels in the Lincoln’s strike group are also anchored across Thailand: the destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. is docked at Sriracha port in Chonburi, while the cruiser USS Robert Smalls is stationed at Map Ta Phut in adjacent Rayong province. This extended uninterrupted deployment, which broke previous records for U.S. Navy operations, sparked public concern last month over mounting mental health strain among crew members and critical food supply shortages on board. While U.S. Navy officials sought to minimize reports of these challenges, former President Donald Trump drew widespread attention when he publicly stated the deployment was “not nearly long enough.” For most crew members stepping off the buses carrying them from the port to central Pattaya, the mood after months at sea was one of eager relief. Loaded down with personal luggage, several service members told the Associated Press they were thrilled to explore the Thai resort city. One sailor described the lengthy deployment as “alright” when asked, but declined to share additional comments. Local vendors and tour operators turned out in force outside the Hard Rock Hotel, the designated meeting point for crew organizing trips around Pattaya, hoping to capitalize on the influx of visiting service members. Crowding around arriving sailors, vendors offered everything from handmade souvenirs to pre-planned city tours, though many sailors politely declined offers as they waited for their arranged transportation. A-ngoon Sombat, a local artisan who makes the trip 200 kilometers from her home in central Thailand’s Ayutthaya province every time a U.S. naval vessel docks in Chonburi, set up her stall selling bright woven braided bracelets directly across from the hotel entrance. She had already recorded a handful of sales by midday Thursday, but remained uncertain about how her business would fare over the stop. “There are many vendors around. It’s really up to how lucky each of us are,” she explained. News of the massive aircraft carrier’s arrival also drew crowds of curious onlookers to a popular viewing spot just outside Laem Chabang port by Wednesday evening. Visitors arrived by car and motorcycle, peering through a mesh security fence to catch a glimpse of the 333-meter-long vessel – a length roughly equal to three American football fields – and snapping photos and videos of the massive warship. Many struck up casual conversations with other enthusiasts who shared the goal of seeing the aircraft carrier in person. Keith Eldridge, an American expat who has lived in Thailand for five years, traveled from neighboring Chachoengsao province specifically to see the Lincoln. Though he missed the actual docking, he tracked down the popular viewing spot after a tip from other ship enthusiasts. Eldridge described the massive vessel as an awe-inspiring “engineering marvel.” “When you get to look at something so big, wrapped up with so much technology – the radars, the sonars, the weapon systems, the propulsion systems – it is truly amazing that we can build it, float it, and we fight from it,” he said. Capt. Dan Keeler, the commanding officer of the USS Abraham Lincoln, confirmed the carrier is en route back to its home base in the United States, with the Thai port stop serving as a rest and resupply stop before the final leg of the journey. He noted the strike group may make additional resupply stops before reaching the U.S., but declined to share an exact date for the group’s arrival back on American soil. The carrier is scheduled to depart Thailand this weekend to continue its homeward journey.

Nearly two weeks after catastrophic glacial outburst floods tore through mountain valleys and towns across Nepal, thousands of displaced survivors sheltering in temporary relief camps are still grappling with critical gaps in essential services, even as government agencies deliver basic food provisions to those who lost everything. The disaster, triggered by a glacier collapse on August 26, has become one of South Asia’s deadliest climate-linked disasters in recent years, leaving an unprecedented trail of destruction and loss that continues to disrupt recovery efforts.

For many families already reeling from the loss of loved ones and entire homes, the lack of access to prescription medications and emergency cash has compounded the hardship of life in temporary shelters. Suresh Kumar Karanjit, a resident who has taken shelter at a relief center in Devighat, Nuwakot district, lost his younger brother to the flood’s surging waters last week. Living with a chronic heart condition, Karanjit found that the limited medications available at the camp did not match his required prescription. With no personal cash on hand to purchase his regular drugs, he was forced to sell a carton of relief-issued noodles for 400 Nepalese rupees, equal to roughly $2.60, to cover the cost. “We have been living here for a week, and it is good that relief materials are being provided. But there is a clear lack of appropriate medicine,” Karanjit told reporters in an interview this Thursday.

Official data from Nepal’s disaster management agency puts the confirmed death toll from the disaster at 1,252, with more than 4,200 people still listed as missing. Across the border in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, authorities reported as of late Wednesday that 21 people had been killed and 541 others remain unaccounted for. In total, close to 4,000 displaced Nepalese residents are currently housed across 32 government-run relief centers spread across the worst-hit regions.

Dharam Raj Uprety, Nepal’s top disaster management official, stated that authorities have established dedicated health camps staffed with licensed doctors and stocked medication at each relief hub, with additional work focused on improving hygiene and sanitation to prevent post-flood disease outbreaks. However, on-the-ground accounts from survivors contradict official claims of full service provision, highlighting gaps in matching the specific medical needs of vulnerable people with chronic conditions.

In hard-hit areas cut off by destroyed transport links, local residents and military personnel have improvised alternative routes to restore basic connectivity. In Bidur town along the Trishuli River, where all permanent bridge crossings were washed away by floodwaters, residents now rely on a makeshift zip line to travel between the two riverbanks. Nepalese Army personnel have been deployed to assist riders as they board and disembark, while dozens of locals wait along the bank for their turn to cross.

In recent days, rescue operations have increasingly shifted focus to collapsed tunnels at several hydropower construction sites across the flood zone, where an estimated 900 workers are believed to have been trapped when debris and floodwaters inundated the passages. Specialized rescue teams from India, China, and the United States have joined the search and recovery effort, but difficult terrain and heavy debris have slowed progress significantly. As of Thursday, there was still no confirmation as to whether any of the trapped workers remain alive.

At the Trishuli-3A hydropower project tunnel, construction crews have begun manually clearing the upper section of the blocked passage, lawmaker Ram Neupane confirmed. An access road to the excavation site was completed over the past week, but additional rock blasting and large-scale debris removal will be required before heavy rescue machinery can be brought into the area.

Climate scientists have long warned that rising global temperatures are accelerating glacial melt across the Himalayan mountain range, increasing the frequency and severity of glacial lake outburst floods and similar catastrophic events like the one that struck Nepal late last month.

After 250 consecutive days at sea on combat operations in the Middle East, nearly 5,000 sailors from the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln finally stepped onto Thai soil in the coastal resort city of Pattaya this Wednesday, wrapping up one of the longest carrier deployments in recent U.S. military history.

Far from the raucous reputation that defines much of Pattaya’s popular culture, most sailors filled their first hours on land with an activity many had craved for months: casual shopping. Clustered in the lobby of the beachfront Hard Rock Hotel, one of two designated accommodations for off-ship crew, sailors chatted and showed off their newly purchased goods, a quiet contrast to the neon-lit nightlife the city is famous for. For men and women who spent nine months confined to the steel hull of a warship, sharing tight quarters with thousands of other service members, even a routine trip to a local shopping mall felt like a much-needed respite from deployment life. With their sharp military haircuts and branded navy t-shirts, the crew stood out easily against the city’s usual crowd of vacationers in flip-flops and casual beachwear.

As night fell, Pattaya shifted into its well-known energetic rhythm, with neon signs lighting up the coastline and the famous Walking Street promenade buzzing with activity. The city’s iconic entrance even erected a large, glowing welcome sign for the USS Abraham Lincoln’s crew, opening the entire strip to visiting sailors. Still, official Navy rules placed the small cluster of venues that make up Pattaya’s sex industry strictly off-limits – a disappointing turn for the workers who line Soi 6, who had been anticipating a major economic boost from the crew’s nine months of unspent deployment salaries.

Pattaya’s local tourism sector has already felt significant strain from ongoing Middle East tensions, which have kept the international tourists the city relies on away from its shores. That makes the Navy port call an especially welcome influx of visitors for local businesses, even with restricted access to certain parts of the city. By midnight, dozens of younger sailors were already leaning on one another after a night of relaxed drinking, while others wandered tentatively into the city’s iconic red-lit go-go bars, drawn to the entertainment on offer.

For most crew members, the break could not come soon enough. Amid the thumping bass of Walking Street’s bars, one veteran crew member shared what nine months at sea had felt like: “The news says we’ve been at sea for nine months. To be honest I’ve lost track of time. It got boring. It’s never big enough on board. It’s big but it still feels like a boat, especially when you’re sharing it with thousands of people.” When asked how long until he returned home to California, he answered simply: “Too long.”

Families back in the U.S. have also waited anxiously through the extended deployment. Shakeira Fairfax, mother of 25-year-old crew member Jada Fairfax, told Reuters that morale among the crew had dipped multiple times through the deployment, especially after the outbreak of new hostilities in the Middle East. “It was an uncertain and scary time,” she said. “I just can’t wait to see her smile. I can’t wait to hear ‘mum’, I know that’s the first thing she’s gonna say.”

The crew has remained strictly prohibited from speaking publicly about the carrier’s operations during its combat mission against Iran, a deployment that has drawn significant political and public criticism back in the United States. Most sailors declined to comment on operational details, and many referred all media questions to the Navy’s official media teams. Patrolling throughout Pattaya during the port call are members of the Shore Liaison Group, identifiable by their SLG-branded t-shirts. Their core mission is to uphold Navy discipline, look after younger, inexperienced crew members new to foreign port calls, and coordinate with local Thai law enforcement and government authorities throughout the visit.

U.S. Naval Attaché Kristopher Robinson declined to answer specific questions from the BBC about restricted activities during the crew’s time in Pattaya, noting only that “we’re trying to give the sailors as much opportunity for rest as they can.” He added that all U.S. personnel would “conduct themselves in accordance with U.S. law, U.S. naval regulations, and the laws of Thailand.”

The choice to schedule a port call in Pattaya follows long-standing protocol for the U.S. Navy, which has a decades-long history of ship visits to Thailand – a close U.S. treaty ally in Southeast Asia. The resort city also falls naturally along the carrier’s route from the Persian Gulf back to its home port in California, creating a convenient stop for the crew to decompress after a grueling extended deployment. If the break achieves its goal, much of the frustration that built up over the unexpected long mission will fade before the crew ever returns to U.S. soil.