new press release


	Press Release

	NEWS RELEASE China Aid Association (267)205-5210 (432) 689-6985 Fax: (432) 522-1329 www.ChinaAid.org Contact: Bob Fu (267) 205-5210 CAA(Midland, Texas)-June 9, 2005 MASSIVE, COORDINATED CRACKDOWN ON HOUSE CHURCHES CHRISTIANS IN CHINA’S JILIN PROVINCE At about 5am on May 22, Sunday, while house church leader, Zhao Dianru, 58, was praying at his home, about a dozen of Chinese police, public security officials raided and searched his house without delivering any search warrant papers. He was taken away and detained at Jiutai City Detention center of Jilin Province until June 6 when he was released. Meanwhile, according to China Aid investigators, police and Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers simultaneously raided about 100 house churches in Changchun area, the capital city of Jilin Province in northeastern China. Almost 600 house church believers and leaders were taken into custody. Most were released after 24 to 48 hours of interrogation, but about 100 of the leaders including professors from Changchun University are still held in different detention centers. According to reliable contacts, Zhao’s arrest document accused him of “using other means to instigate and disturb social stability,” but did not mention religion or church activities. About 20 boxes of Christian books were confiscated during the police raid. Zhao has been overseeing about 18 house churches in his area and was asked to join the government sanctioned church three times recently but he declined. Sources report that university students, professors and other young intellectuals make up a large portion of the raided house church groups. It's believed this is a coordinated campaign to eliminate the house church influence in the university areas. China’s new law on religion, the Provisions on Religious Affairs, took effect March 1. Some had believed the new law would lead to less restriction on unregistered churches, but these large-scale raids and arrests seem to show otherwise. The raided house churches are not all part of the same group, and are not affiliated with any of China’s major house church networks. They are independent house churches with thousands of believers who choose not to register their Christian activities with the Communist government. “While Chinese government has been claiming to the world community that Chinese people are enjoying religious freedom, this major assault on unregistered house churches in Jilin Province really show the opposite,” said Bob Fu, CAA president. “The man-power, coordination and planning involved in raiding such a large number of church meetings simultaneously shows that this effort came from high levels of the Chinese government”. CAA calls upon the world community to urge the Chinese government to immediately release these innocent religious leaders. It’s time for China to live up to the commitments and treaties it has signed on religious freedom. .CAA asks people of conscience to show your concerns and write/call to Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the US: Embassy of the People’s Republic of China 2300 Connecticut Ave NW Washington DC 20008 Tel:(202) 328-2500 Fax: (202) 588-0032 Director of Religious Affairs: (202) 328-2512 Chinese Consulate General in Chicago, IL Address: 100 West Erie Street, Chicago, IL 60610 Tel: (312) 803-0095 Fax: (312) 803-0110 Chinese Consulate General in Houston, TX Address: 3417 Montrose Blvd., Houston, TX 77006 Tel: (713) 524-0780 Fax: (713) 524-7656 Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, CA Address: 443 Shatto Place, Los Angeles, CA 90020 Tel: (213) 807-8018 Fax: (213) 380-1961 Chinese Consulate General in New York, NY Address: 520 12th Avenue, New York, NY 10036 Tel: (212) 244 9392 Fax: (212) 502 0258 Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, CA Address: 1450 Laguna St. San Francisco, CA 94115 Tel: (415) 674-2940 Fax: (415) 563-4861 Issued by China Aid Association, Inc. on June 9, 2005.