Beaten Christian Businessman Revenged by Xinjiang Authority; Three Prominent Legal Scholars and Lawyers Offer Aid

China Aid Association
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Report by ICN-NEWS ON THIS STORY in Italian LanguagePhoto: The official certificate of Mr. Tong’s Furniture Company
(Midland,Texas (CAA)–Oct 16, 2005)—CAA learned the injured Christian businessman, Mr. Tong Qimiao, was ordered to close his business in Xinjiang on October 13 and 14, 2005. Meanwhile, three prominent Chinese legal scholars will provide legal aid to Mr. Tong. The three renown legal
scholars and human rights lawyers are Dr. Xu Zhiyong , Dr. Fan Yafeng and Dr. Teng Biao .
According to a reliable source, this is part of the revenge efforts taken by the State Security Bureau
for Mr. Tong’s public appeal for justice. Mr. Tong was beaten severely and suffered a broken rib by an agent from Xinjiang State Security Bureau on September 28, 2005. He was interrogated for his relationship with a house church in that area. Because Mr. Tong is said to take legal action against his torturers, his furniture factory and store in
a local mall was ordered to close and many pieces of furniture were confiscated on October 13 and 14 respectively by the local authority.
CAA calls upon Chinese central government to take
concrete action to stop the barbaric activities by Xinjiang State Security Bureau members and hold Mr. Tong’s torturers legally accountable. We ask the international community to urge the Chinese
government to honor its international commitment and obligations for religious freedom and the rule of law in China.
Letters of protest can be sent to the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC at the following address:
Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong
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
The followings are personal accounts by both Mr. Tong and his wife on how
Mr. Tong was tortured by Xinjiang State Security Bureau agents.
How I Was Illegally Detained and Brutally Tortured
By Mr. Tong Qimiao
At 10:00 a.m., September 28, 2005, Mr. Ai, a state security agent called
me, asking me to go to the State Security Bureau (his phone number is
0998-2685277). Due to inconvenient transportation, I did not arrive
there until eleven o’clock. Mr. Ai took me to a room on the second
floor of the reception building, in which there were three beds, one
desk, and one bathroom. Two men of about 30 years old—one Chinese named
Wang, one Uyghur, were lying on the beds. I came to the Chinese guy and
shook hands with him, saying, “Sorry. I am late for my company is
located in the countryside with inconvenient transportation.” Before I
finished what I wanted to say, he got very angry and cursed me, “Shit.
Who do you think you are? To save your face, we did not handcuff you
and bring you here today. We have tracked you for over a year.”
Reaching out my hands, I said, “If you have evidences, you can handcuff
me now.” Suddenly he pushed away my hands, and kicked me hard on my
chest. I felt very painful and sat on the floor. And he ordered me to
stand up. I told him I was painful and had no strength to speak. And he
thought I was pretending. I told him, “You, as a law enforcement
officer, are violating the law. And you have no right to beat me.” And
he said, “We are entitled to certain measures in the course of
investigation.” I asked him, “What law have I broken so that I deserved
beating?” Then another two men came in. One is a Chinese named Wang,
the other Uyghur named Ai. Upon coming in, Mr. Wang, the section chief,
said, “We are told you are very powerful and capable.” I asked him,
“Why did your officers beat me?” The Chinese guy who beat me
immediately said, “Who beat you? Which parts of your body were hit?”
Mr. Wang said to me, “I have seen many rogues like you.” And he asked
the Uyghur guy to put a warrant of detention in front me. After Mr.
Wang left, the Chinese guy said to me, “Mr. Tong, we are all
warm-hearted. So long as you tell me what I demand, you can go home.”
Question: When did you become a believer of Jesus?
Answer: I became a believer in September, 1997 in Korla.
Question: Whom did you know in Korla?
Answer: Mr. Lv and Mr. Wang Xinrong.
Question: Where did you get together?
Answer: Near the river dam.
Question: Are you registered?
Answer: I don’t know.
Question: When did you come to Kashgar?
Answer: April 20, 2001.
Question: Do you have connections in Kashgar and Korla?
Answer: No.
Question: Do you know Mr. Lu and Mr. Cao?
Answer: No.
Question: Whom do you know in Kashgar?
Answer: I only went to a gathering in Qiliqiao, not knowing too many people.
It
has been over one hour since I was kicked. I still felt extremely
painful in my chest. And I asked Mr. Wang for some medicines. He said,
“We will call a doctor later to see whether you are really painful.”
Then the interrogation continued.
Question: How many Maola Uyghur do you know?
Answer: I know Maimaiti.
Question: Who else?
Answer: Kuerban, Aierbaier, Alamujiang.
Question: How did you know Kuerban?
Answer:After the earthquake in 2002, a Hong Kong charity foundation donated
some projects. And I contracted 12 houses. That is how I knew him.
Question: How about Aierbaier?
Answer: He invited me to dine with him.
Question: How about Alamujiang?
Answer: He ordered some frames from my company.
Question: Do you still see Kuerban?
Answer: No. The last meeting was in October, 2003.
During their lunch break, I told Mr. Wang again I wanted to see a doctor.
Realizing that I was sweating, he said something to the Uyghur guy in
Uyghur. And he let me lean against the bed, continuing his questions.
Question: How many non-locals do you know in Kashgar?
Answer: Mr. Hong, Mr. Huaming, and one from the teachers’ college.
Question: How did you know Mr. Hong and Mr. Huaming?
Answer: When they ordered furniture from my company.
Question: Did Mr. Hong get something else from your company?
Answer: No.
Question: How many people meet in your house?
Answer: My wife and I, Mr. Ye Jinping and his wife Li Hua, Mr. Wang Xinrong and his wife.
Question: Is there someone else from outside Kashgar?
Answer: No.
Question: Who delivers the sermon?
Answer: Mr. Wang Xinrong.
Question: Is your meeting place registered?
Answer: No.
Question: Do you know it is illegal not to register your meeting place?
Answer: If you say so. I don’t know.
Question: Where are Wei Chunxiu and Wang Xiaoping hiding?
Answer: I don’t know.
The
investigation lasted till 6:30 pm. I had no strength to speak any more,
and told them I needed to see a doctor for the third time. At my
repeated request, Mr. Wang made a phone call to seek instructions from
his superior. I went downstairs with great efforts, where a car was
parked. The driver was a Uyghur. Mr. Wang sat in the front, and I in
the back. I was sent to Zhonghua Hospital, which is a private clinic.
Before letting me in, Mr. Wang discussed something with the doctor.
They did the electrocardiogram and X-ray on me. Then I was taken back
to the car. Over 40 minutes later, Mr. Wang returned to the hospital.
Few minutes later, he asked me in. The doctor asked me, “Where do you
feel painful?” I told him something was wrong with my chest. When he
reached out two fingers to press my chest, I sweated a lot. Then he
told me, “Nothing is wrong. Some medicines will help you feel better.”
So I was taken back to where I was interrogated. Mr. Wang started to
work on the interrogation note. And I was so painful that I had to put
my hands on my chest and squat down. At that moment, Mr. Wang, the
section chief came in. Seeing me squat down, he asked me to stand up.
And I told him I really couldn’t. He asked, “Didn’t the doctor say
nothing is wrong?” Mr. Wang, the guy who beat me and took me to the
hospital asked the section chief out, and told him something. After
returning to the room, they read the interrogation note to me, and
asked me to sign and fingerprint it. And they told me, “Our talk today
is not satisfactory. The National Day holiday is coming. You may go
back to do your business. If we need you, we will call you.” Therefore,
I moved my steps toward the gate of the building. Great pains kept me
from further walk. It was eight o’clock in the evening. I called my
wife, asking her to help me go to the hospital. At the E.R. of the
Second Hospital of Kashgar, I was diagnosed chest bone fracture. This
is what I experienced in the Bureau of State Security.
My Husband Was Beaten by the State Security Agents
By Ms. Wang Miaofen (Mr. Tong’s wife)
At
10:00 am, September 28, 2005, my husband received a call from a state
security agent, who asked him to come to the Bureau of State Security.
For my husband needed to go to Jiashi for business emergency, he asked
the agent whether he could meet him the next day. And the agent said,
“It is only thirty minutes.” Then my husband told him, “I will be there
in a minute.” At 10:33 and 10:57, they called again, saying, “If your
husband doesn’t come, we will handcuff him and bring him here.” For we
live in the countryside with poor transportation, my husband did not
arrive at the bureau till 11:00. I called him several times for
business matter, but his cell phone was not on. It was 1:00 pm, and he
still didn’t come home. So I went to the bureau to find him. At the
gate I told the guard I was here to find my husband. The guard told me,
“He is not here. Come again after the lunch break.” At 4:00 pm, I
returned. But the guard kept me out. I said, “I want to see the
leader.” And he said, “The leader is busy. And you can’t come in.” I
was so worried that I tried to intrude. The guard pushed me out, and
said bad words against me. So we quarreled with each other. At that
moment, one man and one woman came out, saying, “This is work zone. Do
not quarrel here!” I had to go home. My husband’s cell phone was off
for the whole day. At 8:00 in the evening, he called me. His voice was
very low, and I felt something went wrong. So I rushed to take a taxi
to meet him. He squatted down with both hands on his chest. I
immediately sent him to the E.R. of the Second People’s Hospital of
Kashgar. Seeing the shadow in the X-ray film, the doctor asked my
husband to take the C.T., which indicated that his chest bone was
broken. So he had to be hospitalized.
At 9:30 am, September 29,
I went to the Bureau of State Security to find out who beat my husband.
First, I called Mr. Ai, the Uyghur guy, who called my husband that
morning. He asked me, “Are you Tong Qimiao’s wife?” I said, “Yes. Could
you come out to see me? I am waiting at the gate.” A moment later, he
came out. I asked him, “Is it you who called my husband, and asked him
to come here?” He answered, “Yes.” I asked him, “Why did you beat my
husband?” He said, “I did not beat him.” Then he went in. And I gave
him several calls. But he did not answer. So I kept calling him.
Finally he answered the phone, saying, “Let your husband call me!” For
I was not allowed in, I returned to the hospital. At about 12:00, two
state security officers came to the hospital. One was Mr. Wang, the
section chief, and the other Mr. Ai, the Uyghur. While Mr. Wang was
comforting my husband, some Christian friends of ours came in to see my
husband. And Mr. Wang and Mr. Ai left.
At about 6:00 pm, I
received a sudden call from Mr. Guo, the deputy chief of the Bureau of
Commerce and Industry, who asked me to come to his office. There I saw
Mr. Wang and Mr. Ai again. As Mr. Guo was trying to introduce us to
each other, both Mr. Wang and I told him we had met. Mr. Wang asked me,
“Is Mr. Tong feeling better? You shall take good care of him. As for
the medical expenses, we can have a discussion.” Then, Mr. Guo asked
me, “Do you have the business license with you?” I said, “It is in our
company.” And he said, “If you are involved in illegal activities and
organizations, we will revoke your license. And within three years you
cannot do business in the whole Xinjiang region.” I said, “Our business
is legal.” And he said to me and Mr. Wang, “I will be out for a while.
You two enjoy your talk.” I told Mr. Wang, “If my husband violates the
law, you may convict him. You have no rights to beat him. And you shall
not call him a rogue.” And he said, “Let’s not talk about this. We are
here to solve the problem.” I asked him the name of the agent who beat
my husband. He refused to answer. And I asked him, “Why didn’t that
agent come?” He said, “I came in case Mr. Tong feels upset.” And I
said, “Someone shall be responsible for what he did.” He said, “Let’s
put this aside. Have you talked about the medical expenses? I have no
idea about how Mr. Tong is thinking about this. When I asked him
yesterday, he told me to wait and see. What does he mean?” I answered,
“I don’t know.” Then, Mr. Ai continued, “I believe you have heard what
Mr. Guo said.” I said, “We are not afraid, for we have followed all the
procedures.” We talked for more than one hour. Then, they came to the
hospital again, repeating what they had told me.
At lunch time
on September 30, they brought some pigeon soup. Mr. Wang, after
consulting the situation of my husband, invited me out of the room,
asking whether I had discuss the expenses with my husband, and telling
me I might call him. The next day, I called him. And he asked me, “May
we send you the money tomorrow?” I said, “OK.”
In the afternoon
of the next day, Mr. Wang showed me something downloaded from the
internet, which was about the story of my husband. And he asked me to
write an affidavit to indicate that we never posted the news on the
internet. I said, “The one who beat my husband shall be punished. Our
legal rights shall be protected.”
On the morning of October 2,
Mr. Ai came to the hospital, and talked about something with the
surgeon. I told him, “We have no more money.” He asked me to wait in
the ward. But a few minutes later, he left. So I called him. He does
not answer till now.
Translated from Chinese and Issued by China Aid Association on October 16, 2005