ChinaAid
January 8, 2010
XINJIANG–At 5:00 PM, (Beijing time) officers from the Public Security military office Nong Wu Shi in the Aksu Region raided the home of a Han Chinese house church Christian, disrupting the worship gathering and seizing 14 believers. The Han Chinese Christians were escorted by the police to the local Aksu police station, where they were detained for over 12 hours. They each faced interrogation for allegedly conducting an “illegal religious gathering.”
In the morning of January 8th (Beijing time), 11 of the 14 detained Christians were released, leaving house church leaders Yang Tianlu, He Sujin, and Sujin’s son, He Guangyuan, in detention. Yang Tianlu had been previously arrested, tortured, and interrogated along with 30 other house church leaders in Xinjiang for meeting with four American missionaries two years ago, in April, 2007.
On April 27, Yang Tianlu was arrested for allegedly participating in an “evil cult organization” and was sentenced to 37 days criminal detention. Such arbitrary arrests and criminal detentions frequently result in full convictions and further sentencing, but due to widespread international pressure from organizations like ChinaAid and the help the U.S. Embassy, the 44-year-old pastor was released on May 18, 2007. He sustained beatings and other forms of torture while held at the detention center in Aksu region.
Learn more about Yang Tianlu’s case of persecution from ChinaAid’s reports from 4/24/07, 5/1/07, and 5/18/07.
This renewed wave of persecution against house church Christians in Xinjiang threatens to further increase racial and religious tensions on the predominantly Muslim region. ChinaAid calls on the international community to pray for the release of the three Han Chinese Christians, still detained in the Aksu detention center.
To contact the local authorities, call the Nong Wu Shi Public Security Office in Aksu region, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region:
Tel: +86-997-235-0110
For English-speakers, contact the Chinese Embassy in Washington:
Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong
3505 International Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202) 495-2000
Fax: (202) 588-9760
Email: [email protected]
NOTE: If you are a citizen of another country, please click here to find the contact information of the Chinese embassy in your own nation http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zwjg/2490/.
China Aid Contacts
Rachel Ritchie, English Media Director
Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.chinaaid.org
