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Tuesday, March 30, 2004 |
BEHIND THE SCENES IN A CAMBODIAN SWEATSHOP {RFA]
Paid barely subsistence wages and frequently bullied into working at evenings and weekends, workers in a Cambodian textile factory have barely enough money to live on and scant means of fighting for their rights, an in-depth interview by RFA's Vietnamese service has revealed. Many hundreds of thousands of workers-the majority of whom are women-are employed in Cambodia's textile industry, which generates an annual revenue of more than one billion U.S. dollars. Among them is a small minority of Vietnamese women, one of whom told RFA reporter Ly Dinh Phat that she worked in a factory run in the capital Phnom Penh. [more]
9:10:18 AM 
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Imprisoned Chinese House Church Leader Crippled in Beating [CAA]
Mr. Chen Jingmao, a 72 year old South China Church leader, from Yunyang County, Chongqing City, was recently beaten, and crippled in his prison. According to a reliable source in the prison, on February 6, 2004, as punishment for leading 50 prison inmates to the Christian Faith, both Mr. Chen’s legs were broken in a beating he received by the prison guards. Now, Mr. Chen must be carried by fellow believers to go to the toilet, and to eat. The source told CAA, that during Mr. Chen’s beating the guards said that “his action, of bringing others to Christianity, had brought shame upon the Communist Party.”
Mr. Chen was arrested on July 9, 2001, and was sentenced to four years by the People’s Court of Yunyang County, Chongqing City, on May 14, 2002. The official charge was, “using an ‘evil cult’ to obstruct the law,” referring to his association to the South China Church. His crime was described in the official court verdict paper as, “active recruitment of evil cult members,” “organizing secret illegal religious gatherings numerous times” and “distributing the evil cult propaganda materials – ‘Salvation and China,’ ” a South China Church magazine. The main piece of evidence used against Mr. Chen was sending his granddaughter to a Sunday School teacher’s training in 2001. Nine other House Church leaders from the South China Church were sentenced along with Mr. Chen. Their charge was the same, because of their involvement in organizing the Sunday School teacher’s training, their sentences ranged from three to eight years in prison. According to his church leaders, since his conversion in 1991, Mr. Chen was previously arrested twice; once in 1999, and then again in April 2001 for his accused “illegal evangelistic activities.”
“This news is heartbreaking,” says Bob Fu, CAA’s president, “the sentence was unjustified, and the brutal beating illegal, and inhumane, especially to a 72 year old man.”
CAA calls to the international community to raise the issue of violation of various International Human Rights Laws; including the International Covenant for Children’s Rights, passed in 1989 by the United Nations, and signed by China in 1990. This covenant guarantees the rights of children to receive religious education, and guarantees the rights of parents, or legal guardians, to choose what type of education their children should receive; this includes non-public school, religious education, and moral education (article 18, section 1). The brutal beating is a direct violation of Chinese Prison Law, which guarantees a prisoner’s rights to protection from beatings, and torture.
CAA encourages people of conscience to write to Mr. Chen’s prison authority to show your concern for well being of Mr. Chen, and other religious prisoners in this prison. The address to write is: Section 3, Sanxia (Three-Gorge) Prison, Wanzhou, Chongqing City, 404023.
A letter of encouragement would also be appreciated by his relatives. His hometown address is: Group 9, Gaofeng Village, Longjao Town,
www.chinaaid.org
9:07:04 AM
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© 2004 Radio Free China
Last Update: 4/1/2004; 8:31:55 AM
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