Posted on 08/25/2002 8:57:42 AM PDT by tallhappy
Associated Press Worldstream
August 23, 2002 Friday
HEADLINE: Activists accuse China of a sweeping crackdown on Christians worshipping in underground churches
BYLINE: WILLIAM FOREMAN; Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: BEIJING
About 70 Christians have disappeared or been secretly arrested in China in recent months, a group of Chinese religious activists said Friday.
The Christians worshipped in underground or "house" churches that operate outside the communist government's control, said the New York-based Committee for Investigation on Persecution of Religion in China.
The group said the crackdown came as China prepares for the Communist Party's national congress, a major meeting of China's leaders that takes place about once every five years. Authorities usually arrest political and religious activists and others who might embarrass the Communist Party during such high-profile events. The government has yet to announce the date for the congress, expected to be held this autumn. The committee compiled a list of 71 people who have allegedly been secretly arrested or have disappeared - most in July. The list included the detainees' names, ages, addresses, brief descriptions of how they were arrested and where they were held.
Calls seeking comment from the Ministry of Public Security and the Bureau of Religious Affairs went unanswered Friday evening.
The Associated Press tried to call the homes of some of the people on the list, but operators in their towns - mostly in rural areas of the northern provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin - said that they had no telephone service. It is common for rural homes not to have phones.
The committee, run by Chinese Christians living abroad, has released detailed reports before that have been praised by human rights researchers and scholars.
The names on the list released Friday included:
-Zhao Yazhou, 41, of Antu County in Jilin. The committee said police burst into Zhao's home and ransacked it on July 30 before arresting her without charge. She was taken to a detention center in nearby Mingyue Township.
-Liu Jinfeng, 34, of Jiutai City in Jilin. The group said police arrested Liu in her home at 11 p.m. on July 29 and took her away as if they were kidnapping her. She was detained in a jail in Jiutai, it said.
-Hou Chunling, 33, of Mudanjiang City in Heilongjiang. The committee said she disappeared on June 10. One week later, her husband learned she was being detained at the Mudanjiang railway police jail, it said.
Foreign religious scholars have estimated that the number of house church members run as high as 60 million. China's official Christian churches have about 15 million followers.
I still cannot understand why such a despotic little man would be invited there.
And also, how Red China knocked our Military Jet out of the sky in April of 2001 at the same time Al Queda's recruits were settling into their apartments and Flight Training Schools here at home...in an action that distracted the Nation and our President and his advisors and allowed Al Queda to become firmly established here.
China Kills Christians. They always have...and they always will...
America is a Christian Nation and Clinton sold us out to the Dragon. We still don't know the full damage that was done or will be done...
The Committee for Investigation of Persecution of Religion in China. Now there is a real objective source for you. I'll bet your son found a different situation in China regarding Church worship than he had expected. He probably found he could have attended any number of churches on Sunday morning, most ringing a bell to annonce the start of service.
The group in this story may not want to accruately state this but the operataitive words are "underground church." Change the word "underground" to "illegal" and you know why these people were arrested.
A common misconception amoung many is that what is illegal in China is unauthorized assembly. It is the samre reason that Amway could not conduct its marketing/pep style motivational selling method.
Probably these people were told at least once to stop their meetings but continued to assemble illegally.
We do not have government employees on the National Council of Churches or in the National Council of .. say .. Lutherins. Yet we require that they obey the laws of the USA. Prioe censorship is the law in China today (Lots of other countries as well). Freedom of religion or expression is unthinkable there. We are told it is not part of the "Culture". Actually is is prohibited only by the Communists. What passes for freedom of religion in China is a PR dressup of what passes for freedom of religion in most Islamist countries.
How does this differ from the Three-Self Patriotic Christian movement of China? I'm not saying it's right or wrong in either case, but we sure don't hear much yelping about the poor persecuted British Christians these days...
-ccm
The problem with the Fulan Gong is they are lunatics that tell little 12-year-old girls they can set themselves on fire and will not be hurt.
Freedom of religion or expression is unthinkable there.
And that is why the churches open their doors on Sunday for worship and that you can find all kinds of Christian Religious symbols for sale in any department store, including the government owned ones.
As for the buddist, I have not seen their templess closed - actually, quite a few are getting revitalized. And the only complaint I hear from my friends that practice budhism is that the popular religion now seems to be Christianity.
I don't know what China you have been to. Perhaps it was the underground one.
The "Islamic" U.N.,....?
The Political Parties of the Congress of The United States of America?
The Vatican?......and its American Bishops?
Israel?
Monaco?
The ACLU?
The NEA?
The VFW?
The National Council of Churches?
The British?
The ABA?
The newly to be elected U.S. Candidates?
The 'fair' and 'alert' U.S. Media?
The Scientific "Humanist" COMMIUNITY?
The Wall Street Journal?
The T.V. and Hollywood Celebrities CROWD?
The AMA?
The Universities Human Rights and Free Speech Crowd?
The Ted Maher Family?
What's Nu?
Amen,........More Grace and Mercy,........In Jesus' Precious Name, Amen!!!
I made no such assertion. You are mistaken in you perception of my position.
Bump. This is a very interesting point.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.