China Aid Association
Dong Chunhua, originally from China’s coastal Shandong province, was last known to be in the Xigaze (Chinese: Shigatse/Rikaze) prefecture of Tibet before he disappeared. Song Xinkuan, a fellow missionary, told ChinaAid that the last time Dong’s family was able to contact him was a month ago.
“On Christmas Day, he went to the Xigaze region in Tibet and went to several counties. Then, he went to the Ngari prefecture, which borders Xinjiang. He visited that place for a period of time. The person who last saw him said he met Dong in Yadong County [in the Xigaze prefecture], where Tibet borders India,” Song said. The person who last spoke to and saw Dong was another missionary, who is from Wenzhou, in the coastal province of Zhejiang, according to Song.
“We are afraid that he has gone missing. We don’t know whether he has gone, or whether he has been taken into custody or detained by the police,” Song said.
“This is a great loss both to his family and to the Gospel preaching in the entire Tibetan region,” Song said.
Pastor Zhan Gang, the vice-president of the Chinese Christian House Church Alliance, told ChinaAid that the Alliance is trying to contact Dong.
Calls went unanswered when ChinaAid attempted to contact the Ngari Prefecture Public Security Bureau. We were able to contact the Xigaze Prefecture Public Security Bureau; however, the guard who answered the phone refused to answer any questions.
Song told ChinaAid that missionaries in Tibet don’t belong to a certain church. “There are no Three-Self Patriotic Movement churches or China Christian Counsel or Three-Self Patriotic Movement committees in Tibet. Nor are there any churches with an organizational structure. There are only believers spread here and there, especially in the grassroots counties.”
Song also said that Dong has been detained by police before. In addition, his home has been searched. Dong has spread the Gospel in more than 70 Tibetan counties.
ChinaAid expresses its concerns for the sudden disappearances of Dong and hopes that the Public Security Bureaus involved can provide an explanation. If Dong has been detained, we call on the Public Security Bureau responsible to notify his family immediately.
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