Renown Beijing House Church Leader Trial Date Set; CAA Appeals For International Intervention

China Aid Association
(Midland, Texas(CAA)-July 5, 2005) CAA confirms that Beijing House church Pastor Cai Zhuohua’s trial date has been set. Cai, along with his wife Ms. Xiao Yunfei and two other family members will be tried at 9:00am, July 7, 2005 (Beijing Time) in Court Room No. 3 of the People’s Court of Haidian District, Beijing.
The presiding judge will be Mr. You Tao, ( telephone number +86-10-62697101). According to a copy of the prosecution papers obtained by CAA, Pastor Cai, his wife Ms. Xiao Yunfei and Xiao’s brother will be prosecuted on the grounds of “illegal business management” and for allegedly printing over 200,000 copies of Christian literature. Because of Pastor Cai’s pastoral leadership at a Beijing house church, nine prominent lawyers and legal scholars volunteered to defend Pastor Cai. They all believe this is a case of religious persecution under the pretext of “illegal business management.” Among them, professor Fan Yafeng is currently an associate researcher at the Institute of Studies on Law in China’s Academy of Social Sciences which is the top government think tank. Since none of Cai’s family members received any official notification of his arrest and Cai had been brutally mistreated by his interrogators, his family members are considering filing an administrative legal case against the relevant government agencies for its violations of Chinese laws.
CAA appeals to the international community to intervene immediately on behalf of pastor Cai and his family. CAA urges conscience journalists in China to observe the trial.
“This will be a true litmus test for the Beijing government’s religious freedom claims,” said Bob Fu, President of CAA and a former coworker of pastor Cai, “given the fact that 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing, the international community has an obligation to demand the Beijing government show the true spirit of the rule of law and respect of religious freedom for ordinary citizens like pastor Cai.”
Journalists are welcome to interview the following legal representatives for this case:
Mr. Gao Zhisheng( ???) +86-10-81990759 Email: [email protected]
Mr. Guo Feixiong( ???) Cellphone: +86-13552499429 Tel: 10-64118439
Email: [email protected]
Mr. Chen Yongmiao( ???) Email: [email protected]
Mr. Wang Yi( ??) Email: [email protected]
Mr. Teng Biao( ?? ) [email protected]
Mr. Fan Yafeng( ???) [email protected]
Mr. Zhang Xingshui( ???)
Mr. Xu Zhiyong ( ???)
Mr. Jin Xiaoguang( ???)