China News

Christians in China Appeal Labor Camp Punishment

Sentencing without trial contradicts China's claim of religious freedom.

by Xu Mei

NANJING, China, September 20 (Compass) -- The relatives of three Christian men being held in labor camps in mainland China have appealed to local authorities for an explanation of their crimes. A written appeal was also sent to Christians in Hong Kong in May 2004.

The appeal reveals the ignorance of many officials in rural China concerning Christianity. It also demonstrates the injustices suffered by believers in the Peoples Republic of China.

All three men -- two with the family name Wu and another with the family name Li -- hail from Guangxi in southwestern China. They were sentenced to "re-education through labor" for the crime of belonging to an unregistered church. In the words of local authorities, the men are being punished for "creating an atmosphere of terror and making the people psychologically fearful."

The text of the appeal sent to Hong Kong reads as follows:

"In 1996 a man from Sichuan, with the family name Li, came to our area to preach Jesus. It was all very new, and we listened carefully but he did not baptize anyone.

"In June 1997 the (local) government said our meeting was divisive and 'upset social order.' They sent more than 30 officials to surround us, and in the middle of the night they went into every believer's home and ordered everyone, old and young, male and female, to assemble outside. They drove all our livestock away to the local rural government office and the Christians were taken to the local government detention center.

"The prosecutor told us, 'China has not established Christianity. There is no God. It's just a fairy tale. You must not believe in Christianity propagated from Hong Kong. Hong Kong has a capitalist system. They propagate reactionary theories which disturb social order.'

"Then they used handcuffs and electric stun batons to intimidate the Christians. One person was actually knocked out with one. They also forced the Christians to 'confess.'

"Finally 10 Christians were fined. The highest fine was 900 RMB ($110) and the lowest 300 RMB ($35 -- more than many peasants earn in a month.) "The officials stole all the livestock and ate it. People were in despair.

"At 3 a.m. one morning in April 2003, more than 40 police surrounded two house-churches [in this area]. They found a Bible in the homes of Wu, Wu and Li. All the adult men and women in their families were driven to the local detention center and kept there for two days. The police arrested Li just in his shorts and handcuffed him. The three men were then taken to the county prison. Then their relatives lost all trace of them.

"Finally in October 2003, a policeman told the families that the three men had already been sentenced to 're-education thru labor.'

"If you have a Bible in your home, does this mean you are bad? It's very strange! When the Christians were all in detention, the officials told them that they could no longer believe in God. 'If we discover you still believe, we will not be polite -- we will arrest you as we please and beat you as we please,' the Christians were told. But don't Chinese citizens have freedom of religious belief? How can we be arrested, beaten and even killed for our faith?

"In October 2003 we finally were able to go to the labor camp and see the two Wu's and Mr. Li. Five months had already passed but only then did we discover their 'crime' was 'creating an atmosphere of terror and making the people psychologically fearful'.

"We don't understand! What does this mean?"

Signed: the families of Mr. Wu, Mr. Wu and Mr. Li.

This appeal shows that the basic attitude of Chinese authorities towards Christianity has not changed despite the government's claims of religious freedom in China. House churches are still being harassed by local authorities and Christians are still being sentenced without trial to "re-education through labor" camps.

The appeal seems doubly ironic in the wake of China's rejection of the annual report issued by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Released on September 15, the report criticized China for continued abuse of religious freedoms.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan denied the allegations, and according to the Associated Press, said China firmly opposed "the U.S. practice of interfering in the religious affairs of other countries."

Quan also claimed that "Freedom of religious belief is protected by China's constitution and other laws."