On July 23-27 of 2018, the first-ever ministerial focusing on religious freedom was held by the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. Ministries from over 40 countries and representatives with various religious groups and NGOs from over 80 countries were participating. In addition to the formal meetings, several side events were also listed on the agenda. On July 23, at the Russell Senate Office Building, the opening event was co-organized by Mr. Greg Mitchell, the Co-Chair of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable (IRF) in Washington D.C. and Bitter Winter, an online daily magazine. Discussions in this side event focused on the religious persecution in China. The persecution of The Church of Almighty God held attention of the participants in particular. Some experts and scholars made appeals to the democracies for granting fundamental asylum to the diaspora of Christians. They also urged that the international community unite together to advance the religious freedom in China.