China News

News from China with a focus on human rights and religious liberty

Saturday, May 22, 2004

CHINESE AUTHORITIES CRACK DOWN ON MULTI MILLION MEMBER HOUSE CHURCH
Leader Kidnapped, Over 90 Coworkers Arrested and One Tortured to Death

By Jeremy Reynalds
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

FLUSHING, N.Y. (ANS) -- A harsh crackdown on a house church with several million members has been initiated by the Chinese government.

According to The Committee for Investigation on Persecution of Religion in China (CIPRC), Shuangfu Xu, the leader of the church was kidnapped in Ha-er-bin, Heilongjiang Province. In addition, more than 90 coworkers were arrested by the police, and one named Xianggao Gu was reportedly beaten to death.

On April 17, Xu and some coworkers, including a Ms. Liu, traveled to Haerbin to visit church members. Later that day, CIPRC reported, a jeep attempted to stop them a number of times. After they arrived at their destination, their driver, Xiao San, left. A few minutes later the driver reportedly called and said, “I was stopped by someone!”

According to CIPRC, Xiao San’s current whereabouts are not known.

Knowing this, Xu and Liu decided to leave ahead of schedule. At about 4:00pm, a friend arrived to give them a ride to the airport. Seeing that Liu and Xu were followed the minute they left the building, he called them immediately. As a result, CIPRC reported, they opted to take a taxi to the airport.

However, they were kidnapped on the way. Fortunately, Liu was able to escape at night. She told her friends what had happened; how the police officers had kidnapped them at gunpoint, pulled them into the car and blindfolded them. Then they were taken to Bin County, where Liu escaped. However on April 18, CIPRC reported, Liu was taken away by the police from the Provincial Public Security Bureau and never returned.

On April 19, Xu’s goddaughter called the kidnappers, and was allegedly told to pay three million RMB (about $400,000) to get Xu back. She went to Dacheng Police Station for help. However, CIPRC reported, she said the police treated her as a criminal, interrogating her until about noon. The kidnappers reportedly called her and threatened, “Send the money before midnight. Otherwise, we will kill the old man. We are going chop down one of his fingers right now.”

Frightened, Xu’s goddaughter begged the police for a way to rescue her godfather. CIPRC reported she said the policeman answered with a smile, “You must prepare the money quickly. How can we solve the case without the money?”

Xu’s goddaughter reportedly begged the police again and again, and said she finally realized that the police did not want to solve the case at all. Then she managed to escape by telling them she would do what they wanted – contact Xu’s family and find a way to get the money.

According to CIPRC, “The whole police station started to look for her, saying that her godfather was found and asked her to go and confirm. She knew it was a trap and then left Haerbin. After knowing what happened, Xu’s wife tried to seek help from the police also. She contacted both the local police department and Heilongjiang police for many times. But she was kicked back and forth.”

The case is still reportedly in limbo. The situation has become very severe now - the police arrest whoever inquires about this case. The victims’ families are under tight surveillance, making them unable to say anything unless willing to be arrested. According to a police officer, Xu’s church is being treated by the Chinese authorities in a similar manner to Falungong.

(According to the Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org/reports/2002/china/China0102-01.htm#P263_25189), “Falungong is a form of qigong, an ancient Chinese deep-breathing exercise system sometimes combined with meditation that enthusiasts claim promotes physical, mental, and spiritual well-being by enhancing the flow of vital energy through a person's body. It also includes elements of popular Buddhism and Daoism and offers followers a road to salvation.”)

Xu is from Linglou Village, Xiaodian Town, Nanzhao County, Henan Province. Having devoted his life to evangelism at the age of 12 in 1957, CIPRC reported, he has been jailed many times because of his faith, six times for more than three years. After several decades of hard work, his church has thrived in almost every province.

More than 90 of Xu’s coworkers in Haerbin were arrested at the same time and their homes were seized and ramsacked. Among the arrested, CIPRC reported, were some preachers: Chuanhui Yin, Yuqin Fan, Jianmin Jiao and Zhifu Lian.

A 28-year old male, Xianggao Go, was reportedly beaten to death. According to CIPRC, “The police offered his family 230,000 RMB (about $30,000) hush money and incinerated the body immediately. Many church members have abandoned their home to escape from the coming harsh persecution.”

A CIPRC spokesman said, “It is very clear now that this is a carefully planned, large-scale and severe crackdown on this house church by the government. We urge the international society, especially the Christians, to give a helping hand to rescue Brother Xu and his church.”

The Committee for Investigation on Persecution of Religion in China is a nonprofit organization dedicating to reporting the crackdown on house churches by the Chinese government, and to helping those being persecuted.

For more information about this situation and others, go to www.china21.org. In addition, the organization may be reached by e-mailing ciprc1@yahoo.com, or calling 646-361-5039.

8:43:00 AM

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