Congressmen Send Letter to Chinese Ambassador Concerning Crackdown

China Aid Association

(WASHINGTON, D.C. — October 3, 2008) A Congressional letter spearheaded by leadership of the 62-member U.S.-China Working Group (USCWG) was sent to China’s Ambassador to the U.S., Zhou Wenzhong, voicing concerns over reports of a post-Olympic crackdown by the Chinese government planned for October.
ChinaAid released a report in August regarding the crackdown after receiving internal documents and information from reliable sources within the Chinese government. The sources informed ChinaAid that an unprecedented nation-wide campaign is being designed to crackdown on four specific “unstable social elements” within China. They are: illegal Christian house church leaders, petitioners, human rights defenders and political dissidents. In addition, China Aid learned that the Beijing Municipal State Security Bureau issued a “citizen informant initiative”, whereby ordinary citizens are required to report individuals and organizations who are deemed a threat to national security. According to the initiative these individuals include those who “engage in activities that endanger state security by utilizing religions.”
Congressman Michael Conaway (TX), a member of the USCWG, joined Congressmen Rick Larsen (WA) and Mark Kirk (IL), Co-Chairmen of the USCWG, to spearhead the effort to send a formal letter to Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong expressing concerns about the reports of a post-Olympics crackdown. In mid-September, China Aid staff met with Congressman Conaway and with staff members from the offices of Congressmen Larsen and Kirk. The bi-partisan letter was signed by [XX] other Congressmen [or, Representatives and Senators].  The Congressmen are waiting on Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong’s response to their letter. ChinaAid will continue to post updates on this situation.
Read the Congressmen’s letter to the Chinese Ambassador.
Read the English translation of the “Citizen Informant Initiative” of the Beijing State Security Bureau, which includes a list of organizations targeted.
Write to Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong expressing your concern about the planned October crackdown:
Zhou Wenzhong
Ambassador
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
Issued by CAA, October 3, 2008