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Saturday, October 6, 2007

Nine House Church Leaders sent secretly to labor camps in Hubei Province

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

MIDLAND, TEXAS (ANS) -- After nine House Church leaders were missing for almost two months, only recently have their relatives been officially informed by authorities that the nine pastors have been sentenced to re-education through labor from 12 months to 18 months.

China Aid Association (CAA) says that among them, 42-year-old Ms. Li Mei has been serving her one-year sentence in a hospital of her county with both hands chained with her bed. She has to have a hysterectomy surgery because of the repeated beatings and torture she received during her detention time from July 15 to August 15. Another female church leader, 33-year-old Ms. Qin Daomin, is temporarily serving her sentence at home because she has a 2-year-old child for which to care.

According to the sentence paper issued on August 6 2007 by the Administrative Committee for Reeducation through Labor of Enshizhou City of Hubei province, the nine leaders were detained on July 15 when they were found having Sunday worship service together at the home of Ms. Qin Daomin.

CAA says they were accused “for crime of engaging in organizing and making use of evil cult organization to undermine the enforcement of State laws.”

The official reeducation through labor decision paper listed the following things as evidence of their crimes including singing Christian hymns to the villagers and showing Jesus film in a nursing home and praying for the disabled elderly men for healing from God.

Click here for the full text of the official decision paper- A Decision of Reeducation through Labor http://chinaaid.org/2007/10/05/a-decision-of-reeducation-through-labor-for-the-9-church-leaders/  

Click here for Qin Hongjun Administrative Appeal paper
http://chinaaid.org/2007/10/05/jianshi-county-public-security-bureau-written-decision-on-public-security-administrative-penalty-against-qin-hongjun-and-his-complaint/  

The nine sentenced leaders are from Anhui, Hubei, Henan and Shanxi provinces. Among them, four male church leaders were sentenced to 18 months in labor camp while five women were sentenced to 12 months. The four men are Mr. Wang Caizhang(34-year-old), Mr. Ma Zhao(35-year-old), Mr. Yang Situan(39-year-old) and Mr. Du Dongliang(32-year-old).

The five women are Ms. Qin Daofang(40-year-old), Ms. Hu Rong(42-year-old), Ms. Li Mei (42-year-old), Ms. Ren Xianxue (35-year-old),Ms. Qin Daomin(33-year-old). Mr. Yang Situan and Ms. Ren Xianxue are husband and wife with three children at school. Ms. Qin Daofang and Qin Daomin are two biological sisters and their father Mr. Qin Hongjun (65-year-old) was sentenced to ten days administrative detention for hosting the Sunday worship service at his home. He was also severely beaten.

The four male church leaders are now held in the Enshi Zhou Labor Camp

Concerned Christians may communicate their concern to the Chinese authorities at the following addresses

Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong,
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20008
www.china-embassy.org/  
TEL: 202-7456743
Fax: 202- 588-0032; 202-7457473
Director of Religious Affairs: (202) 328-2512

WEN Jiabao Guojia Zongli
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100017
People’s Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Email: gazette@mail.gov.cn  

For more information, Contact: Bob Fu:
Tel: (432）689-6985; (267) 205-5210; Fax: (432)-686-8355
E-mail: info@ChinaAid.org
Website: www.ChinaAid.org ; www.monitorChina.org  

** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. His weblog appears at: Michael's Wor(l)d BLOG
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