11-18-2005, 03:39 AM
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05110095.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Wednesday, November 16, 2005
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHDOG WELCOMES PRESIDENT BUSH'S REMARKS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN CHINA AS PRESSURE ON IMPRISONED CHINESE PASTOR IS REVEALED
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
JAPAN (ANS) -- <b>Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a human rights organization which specializes in religious freedom, working on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promoting religious liberty for all</b>, has welcomed President Bush's comments in Japan calling on China to exercise more religious freedom.
Speaking in Japan on November 16, President Bush said: "As China reforms its economy, its leaders are finding that once the door to freedom is opened even a crack, it cannot be closed. As the people of China grow in prosperity, their demands for political freedom will grow as well. President Hu has explained to me his vision of "peaceful development," and he wants his people to be more prosperous.
The President added: "I have pointed out that the <b>people of China want more freedom to express themselves, to worship without state control, to print Bibles and other sacred texts without fear of punishment.</b> The efforts of China's people to improve their society should be welcomed as part of China's development. By meeting the legitimate demands of its citizens for freedom and openness, China's leaders can help their country grow into a modern, prosperous, and confident nation."
His remarks come as evidence emerges that a Chinese church leader has been pressured not to appeal his three-year prison sentence for the production of Christian literature and Bibles.
CSW, in a news release to the media, says Pastor Cai Zhuohua, a prominent Beijing house church leader, was sentenced on November 8 for "illegal business practices." The charges followed the discovery of 200,000 copies of the Bible and other Christian literature in a storage room managed by him.
According to news released today by China Aid Association (CAA), a court clerk visited Pastor Cai at the Qinghe Detention Center and told him his sentence would increase if he appealed it. He added he would have received a three-year suspended sentence if he had not hired lawyers who were troubling the government.
Pastor Cai, his wife and her brother, who were also sentenced, have decided not to appeal as a result. Pastor Cai has been fined £11,500 ($19,700 USD), his wife £8,500 ($14,600), and her brother £7,000 ($12,000 USD).
Further interference with the case occurred on November 4 when the firm of one of the defense lawyers, Mr Gao Zhisheng, was ordered to close for a year by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice.
CSW says: "Pastor Cai's case precisely reflects President Bush's concerns relating to the printing of Bibles. The case is not isolated. The seriousness of the issue was demonstrated recently when CAA reported that State Security agents drugged leaders of the China Gospel Fellowship in an attempt to find the location of their literature storehouse and details of how the church is run. Some of the approximately 12 leaders who were arrested in Hunan in July were tortured and forced to report back to the security forces on church activities."
This incident is only one of many featured in a <b>new report on religious freedom</b> in China just released by CSW. It details hundreds of arrests of Christians from unregistered churches.
The report highlights that the last six months have seen a notable increase in reports of religious persecution against unregistered Protestant Christians in China.
Punishments include imprisonment, torture, humiliating treatment, fines, welfare deductions, withholding of medical treatment, church and business closures and confiscation of valuables and religious materials. Arrests are often accompanied by beatings, at times resulting in serious injury and, in a number of cases, hospitalization.
Recent incidents have been reported in Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Jilin, Shanxi and Xinjiang provinces, as well as in Beijing and Shanghai. Impunity of those who perpetrate abuses continues to be an obstacle to securing guarantees of religious freedom.
Pastor Cai was abducted from a bus stop and dragged into a van by three plain-clothed State Security officers on September 11 2004. According to a former fellow inmate, Pastor Cai was repeatedly tortured with electric shocks and forced to give false confessions to serious charges.
On July 7 2005, Pastor Cai, his wife, Xiao Yunfei, her brother, Xiao Gaowen, and his wife, Hu Jinyun were tried for charges relating to 'illegal business practices' at the People's Court of Haidian District, Beijing. Pastor Cai's wife and her brother were later sentenced to two years and one and a half years respectively.
Stuart Windsor, National Director of CSW, said: "We are pleased President Bush has drawn attention to the desire of <b>Chinese people to worship without state control, to print Bibles and to have more freedom. We hope the Chinese government will bring rapid and far-reaching reforms in the way it treats Christians.</b> The huge fines imposed on Pastor Cai for distributing Bibles and the intimidation he has faced when considering his appeal give us cause for great concern. <b>It is high time that China responds to calls to respect international agreements and standards on religious freedom and human rights." </b>
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Wednesday, November 16, 2005
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHDOG WELCOMES PRESIDENT BUSH'S REMARKS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN CHINA AS PRESSURE ON IMPRISONED CHINESE PASTOR IS REVEALED
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
JAPAN (ANS) -- <b>Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a human rights organization which specializes in religious freedom, working on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promoting religious liberty for all</b>, has welcomed President Bush's comments in Japan calling on China to exercise more religious freedom.
Speaking in Japan on November 16, President Bush said: "As China reforms its economy, its leaders are finding that once the door to freedom is opened even a crack, it cannot be closed. As the people of China grow in prosperity, their demands for political freedom will grow as well. President Hu has explained to me his vision of "peaceful development," and he wants his people to be more prosperous.
The President added: "I have pointed out that the <b>people of China want more freedom to express themselves, to worship without state control, to print Bibles and other sacred texts without fear of punishment.</b> The efforts of China's people to improve their society should be welcomed as part of China's development. By meeting the legitimate demands of its citizens for freedom and openness, China's leaders can help their country grow into a modern, prosperous, and confident nation."
His remarks come as evidence emerges that a Chinese church leader has been pressured not to appeal his three-year prison sentence for the production of Christian literature and Bibles.
CSW, in a news release to the media, says Pastor Cai Zhuohua, a prominent Beijing house church leader, was sentenced on November 8 for "illegal business practices." The charges followed the discovery of 200,000 copies of the Bible and other Christian literature in a storage room managed by him.
According to news released today by China Aid Association (CAA), a court clerk visited Pastor Cai at the Qinghe Detention Center and told him his sentence would increase if he appealed it. He added he would have received a three-year suspended sentence if he had not hired lawyers who were troubling the government.
Pastor Cai, his wife and her brother, who were also sentenced, have decided not to appeal as a result. Pastor Cai has been fined £11,500 ($19,700 USD), his wife £8,500 ($14,600), and her brother £7,000 ($12,000 USD).
Further interference with the case occurred on November 4 when the firm of one of the defense lawyers, Mr Gao Zhisheng, was ordered to close for a year by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice.
CSW says: "Pastor Cai's case precisely reflects President Bush's concerns relating to the printing of Bibles. The case is not isolated. The seriousness of the issue was demonstrated recently when CAA reported that State Security agents drugged leaders of the China Gospel Fellowship in an attempt to find the location of their literature storehouse and details of how the church is run. Some of the approximately 12 leaders who were arrested in Hunan in July were tortured and forced to report back to the security forces on church activities."
This incident is only one of many featured in a <b>new report on religious freedom</b> in China just released by CSW. It details hundreds of arrests of Christians from unregistered churches.
The report highlights that the last six months have seen a notable increase in reports of religious persecution against unregistered Protestant Christians in China.
Punishments include imprisonment, torture, humiliating treatment, fines, welfare deductions, withholding of medical treatment, church and business closures and confiscation of valuables and religious materials. Arrests are often accompanied by beatings, at times resulting in serious injury and, in a number of cases, hospitalization.
Recent incidents have been reported in Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Jilin, Shanxi and Xinjiang provinces, as well as in Beijing and Shanghai. Impunity of those who perpetrate abuses continues to be an obstacle to securing guarantees of religious freedom.
Pastor Cai was abducted from a bus stop and dragged into a van by three plain-clothed State Security officers on September 11 2004. According to a former fellow inmate, Pastor Cai was repeatedly tortured with electric shocks and forced to give false confessions to serious charges.
On July 7 2005, Pastor Cai, his wife, Xiao Yunfei, her brother, Xiao Gaowen, and his wife, Hu Jinyun were tried for charges relating to 'illegal business practices' at the People's Court of Haidian District, Beijing. Pastor Cai's wife and her brother were later sentenced to two years and one and a half years respectively.
Stuart Windsor, National Director of CSW, said: "We are pleased President Bush has drawn attention to the desire of <b>Chinese people to worship without state control, to print Bibles and to have more freedom. We hope the Chinese government will bring rapid and far-reaching reforms in the way it treats Christians.</b> The huge fines imposed on Pastor Cai for distributing Bibles and the intimidation he has faced when considering his appeal give us cause for great concern. <b>It is high time that China responds to calls to respect international agreements and standards on religious freedom and human rights." </b>
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