Chinese House Church Leaders to Testify at UN
March 30, 2005
By Bob Fu/China Aid Association
Contact: Bob Fu of the China Aid Association, 267-205-5210, 432-689-6985, fxq02@yahoo.com
GENEVA, March 29 /Christian Wire Service/ — For the second time in the history of the United Nations, the oppressed Chinese House Church leaders will testify at a parallel meeting in the UN headquarter in Geneva during the 61st annual meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. The theme of the meeting is about religious repression, torture, sexual abuse and arbitrary detention in China. The meeting sponsored by A Woman’s Voice International, a UN recognized NGO for human rights, will be held March 30, 2005.
Ms Liu Xianzhi, a 34 year-old leader of a house church, who escaped from China after serving six years in a labour camp, recounts her own personal experience of torture, sexual abuse and arbitrary imprisonment in China. She was accused of having a sexual relationship with Pastor Gong, the imprisoned leader of the South China Church, shocked repeatedly with an electronic baton and beaten unconscious. (Read the full text at www.chinaaid.org later)
“The condition of religious persecution in China overall has steadily deteriorated – particularly since the year 2002,” said Rev. Bob Fu, president of China Aid Association and a former house church pastor in Beijing. “Within the first 9 months of 2004 we recorded over 400 arrests of house church pastors. Within the month of September alone, thirteen pastors were formally sent to re-education through labor camps in Henan Province.” Then he focuses on the case of the persecution of the evangelical South China Church. Over the past 15 years, within this church alone, 2071 believers were formally arrested, detained or sent to brainwashing classes for a total 403 years, 11 months and 6 days. This doesn’t include 3 life sentences. Over 3 million Chinese RMB and numerous pieces of private property were illegally confiscated, 49 homes were raided and destroyed. Numerous men and women believers were tortured and many, especially women like Ms. Liu Xianzhi, were sexually abused and molested during their interrogation to obtain false evidence against Pastor Gong.
For the first time, an electro-shock baton, often used for torture, will be demonstrated. CAA received this torture tool recently with the help of a conscientious police officer. According to its specifications it can administer 80 KV to 500 KV of electricity. It can cause heart damage and burn flesh. Some labor camp products, including Christmas lights made by the Shayang Female Labor Camp of Hubei Province, are displayed at the meeting. They were recently smuggled out directly from that labor camp.
A video interview with the family members of Ms. Jiang Zongxiu who was arrested June 18, 2004, and beaten to death during her interrogation, is aired during the meeting. The video footage also contains photos of Ms. Jiang’s remains showing bruises on her legs and neck.
China Aid also releases a recently obtained government secret document; entitled “Education Campaign Action Plan Against Cults” dated January 28, 2005, issued by the Communist Party Committee, Shayang County [Issue No.1 (2005)].
Though it is only a regional document, it provides chilling and irrefutable evidence that the Chinese central government has intensified its campaign against all unregistered religious groups and their believers. This was done under the pretext of an anti “evil cult” campaign.
The document states that this new campaign is carried out “in light of the directives from the Central Committee of the Communist Party….” in order to fully “implement the No. 26 document issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of CPC in 2004, the No. 6 document issued by the 610 Office of Hubei Province in 2005.” The comprehensive campaign involves every Chinese social sector. The media has been asked not to publicize the “names of other evil cults, except ‘Falun Gong.'” (Read the full text at www.ChinaAid.org later).
Mr. Stuart Windsor, National Director, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, UK, also speaks about the Chinese government’s clear violations of international law by making numerous arbitrary detentions/arrests of underground Catholic and Protestant believers. Pointing to conclusions of the UN findings regarding the arbitrary detention of a Chinese church historian Mr. Zhang Yinan, he urges the Chinese government to release all the arbitrarily arrested and abide by her international obligations.
The meeting is chaired by Lord Chan of Oxton, Member of the British Parliament, House of Lords, Chairman of the Chinese in Britain National Forum and Chairman of the Chinese Overseas Christian Mission.
PROFILES OF SPEAKERS
Liu Xianzhi, 33, is a senior leader of the South China Church. She has spent a total of six years in labor camps for practicing her religious belief. She was targeted in the massive crackdown on the South China Church in 2001, in which five members of the Church were sentenced to death, two with reprieve. After a high profile international outcry, the cases were reviewed and Liu was released by the court. However, she was immediately administratively sentenced to three years re-education through labor, and only released in February 2004. Liu suffered severe torture and sexual assault in an effort to force her to give evidence against the leader of the group.
Bob Fu is the President of China Aid Association, a key agency documenting the persecution of the Church in China. He was a house church leader in Beijing until he and his wife were detained for ‘illegal religious activities.’ After their release they fled to the West to avoid imminent further persecution for their faith. He has a wealth of information and documentation on religious persecution in China today. He currently serves as a visiting professor at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
Stuart Windsor is the National Director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide. He has twenty years experience working in human rights and highlighting and documenting religious freedom concerns around the world. He has broad international experience providing parliamentary and media briefings and has been personally involved in a number of high profile international human rights cases in which he has given expert testimony. He works and travels extensively with Baroness Cox, a Deputy Speaker of the British House of Lords.
Lord Chan of Oxton will chair the meeting. He is a Member of the British Parliament, House of Lords, Chairman of Chinese in the British National Forum and Chairman of the Chinese Overseas Christian Mission.
China Aid Association
www.ChinaAid.org
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Video Transcription:
CALL FOR JUSTICE
— Voice from the family members of the murdered Christian Jiang Zongxiu
Narrator:
Ms. Jiang Zongxiu, a 34-year-old Christian was caught distributing Bibles and gospel tracts in a Chinese marketplace in Tongzi County, Guizhou Province. June 17, 2004, Jiang and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Tan Dewei, were handcuffed together and brought to a neighboring police station. They were both interrogated throughout the evening of the 17th. The next morning they were sentenced by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) to 15 days incarceration for “suspected spreading of rumor and disturbing the social order.” On the arrest documents, they were described as having “seriously disturbed the social order by distributing children’s literature to the masses in the market.” But it was not enough for the PSB to arrest and beat these two Christian women for the crime of passing out Christian literature. During the afternoon of June 18th, Mrs. Jiang Zongxiu was pronounced dead by the PSB office of Tongzi County. They claimed she died of “natural causes.”
On the video five of Sister Jiang’s surviving family members are sitting together: her husband with their 4- year-old son on his lap; Jiang’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Tan Dewei, who was arrested with her; Jiang’s father-in-law; and her sister-in-law.
Husband:
I am holding up my wife’s picture. It is very painful for me. You can see the scars on her neck. You can see she was clearly beaten to death. I ask for justice for me and my 4-year-old son.
Son:
I want my mommy. I want my mommy. I want my mommy.
Father-in-law:
On the morning of the 17th, I spoke with my wife and Jiang. By 2:00 the next afternoon, my precious daughter-in-law was dead. My wife asked to see her but was not allowed. She did see her feet as she lay on a table. My wife knew something was wrong. I now look at my grandson, whose mother was perfectly healthy and died after just a few hours in the custody of the police.
I spoke with the arresting police and told them that even if they arrested a murderer, they would be allowed to defend themselves. But they killed my daughter-in-law the day after her arrest.
Mother-in-law:
We went to the Puodu Town marketplace and were caught. I was handcuffed to my daughter-in-law and brought to the police station in Tongzi County. I was kicked repeatedly during my interrogation. I noticed Jiang had been treated worse than me. They took off her shoes and beat her again. They told me they would beat me too if I didn’t obey.
Mother-in-law:
It was the morning of June 18th, when we were taken to the detention center. It was very early in the morning. They took our fingerprints and brought us to our cells. I protested that this was illegal, but it did not matter. A few days later, I remember seeing a person’s feet lying on a bed across from my cell. Officers came in to take pictures. At the time I did not know what it was about. I asked an officer what had happened, but he told me it was not my concern. I had asked to see my daughter-in-law, but they told me she was resting. When I inquired again, I was told she was very sick, in serious condition.
I kept asking to see her, but they just cursed me. Then they released me, forcing me on the train back to my village. I only learned of Jiang’s death after I arrived home. Now I know what they were taking pictures of at the detention center and why they wanted me to leave before the end of my 15-day sentence.
Sister-in-law:
We received the autopsy report on June 29th. It only stated that my sister died of natural causes, of heart failure. There was no mention of the wounds from the beatings. We asked for a second autopsy but were refused. We went to our local court, but they refused to take up our case. Now the PSB is pressuring us to cremate Jiang’s body.
Sister-in-law:
We are just ordinary Christians. All of our family is illiterate. We just want justice. They killed my sister just because she was caught sharing her faith. Why did she have to die? Why does her 4-year-old son have to grow up without a mother?
I asked permission to take pictures of my sister-in-law’s body, but they refused. So I went out and rented a camera and sneaked back in. The pictures we have were taken by me personally. It is very easy to see the wounds from her beatings. One of the PSB officers even told me secretly that we do not need another autopsy; it is easy to see that she was beaten to death.
http://www.earnedmedia.org/caa0328.htm