China Aid Association
(BEIJING – September 17, 2009) On September 17 (Beijing time), Hua Huiqi, Pastor of the Tent-Making Ministry, was seized by Public Security and State Security agents from Fengtai District in Beijing. After learning what happened to his church and his vocational school, Pastor Hua was returning home from “forced vacation” in Shanxi, when five PSB officers immediately surrounded his apartment home.
Around 5:00 PM he was invited to go out to dinner at a restaurant, to talk about the last Sunday’s incident at the vocational school (View details from the Tent-Making Ministry Raid). About half an hour later, his wife, evangelist Ju Mei, received a phone call from Hua. Secretly from his cell phone, Hua told her that he had been forced into a PSB car on the highway. Before 6:00 PM, Hua called his wife again, and said he was taken to an unknown location by a group of PSB officers. The phone went dead, and the family members lost contact with him.
At approximately 10:20 PM, a Beijing PSB officer named Ding Xu went to Hua’s home to pick up some clothes for Hua. When Ju Mei asked him what had happened to her husband, and whether he was dead or alive, Officer Ding Xu refused to answer. He reportedly pointed to his police badge and said, “Don’t you know who I am? I have no obligation to answer your questions!”
ChinaAid President Bob Fu called the Director of the Domestic Security Protection Squad of PSB of Fengtai District of Beijing this morning, at 7:00 AM CST, inquiring about Pastor Hua’s status. The Director confirmed that Hua is still in their custody but refused to reveal his condition and whereabouts.
Hua’s 79-year old mother, wife and daughter fear for Hua’s safety; they identified one of the police officers who seized Hua as one of men who beat Hua severely in the crackdown leading up to June 4 of this year. Pastor Hua has been repeatedly arrested, beaten, and interrogated by PSB officials within the last two years, and his family has sacrificed their safety for the lawful defense of human rights. Hua’s mother Shuang Shuying was released only months ago from her two-year imprisonment for her rights defense work.
ChinaAid calls for the lawful release of Pastor Hua Huiqi, and denounces the illegal actions of the Beijing Public Security Bureau. We urge you to continue praying for the Tent-making Ministry church members, and for Pastor Hua and his family.
To urge the Chinese government to release Hua Huiqi, contact the Chinese Embassy:
Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong
3505 International Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202) 495-2000
Fax: (202) 588-9760
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/.
For Chinese-speakers, contact the Fengtai PSB Director in Beijing, and Officer Ding Xu directly:
Director of the Domestic Security Protection Squad of PSB, Fengtai District, Beijing (Cellphone): +86-13901358989
Officer Ding Xu (cellphone): +86-13501068976
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
