Beijing, China - China Aid Association (CAA) is reporting that is has learned that in the past two weeks multiple arrests of house church pastors occurred at Shandong and Jiangsu Provinces. CAA says that one pastor from South Korea was expelled by the Chinese security agency and a prominent Chinese legal scholar and rights defender was forbidden to go abroad.
CAA said that there are eyewitness reports that House Church Pastor Liu Yuhua was arrested at 11pm on April 26, 2006 at Shandong Province. He has been held since at the Detention Center of Linchu County, Shandong Province.
In the Criminal detention paper issued to Pastor Liu's family by the PSB of Linchu County, Pastor Liu was accused "being involved in illegal business practices." However, CAA says that Liu had been printing and distributing bibles and other Christian literature to fellow believers free of charge to meet the rapid growth of believers.
CAA said that one "reliable source" reported that Liu's office was searched without warrant, his bank account seized and cash in the amount of 8600 Yuan ($1100) was confiscated.
CAA noted that legal experts say this case is very similar to Beijing Pastor Cai Zhuohua's case. In that case, Cai was sentenced in 2005 to three years imprisonment for printing Christian literature.
This is because, CAA said, "the Chinese government tries to persecute religious leaders by criminalizing their religious activities," said Mr. Gao Zhisheng, a lawyer whose law firm was closed last year by the Chinese government because of his volunteer work defending the rights of Pastor Liu Yuhua.
CAA said that it has also learned at 1:30pm on May 10, 11 pastors and house church leaders were arrested at #3 Chuyuan Residence Region, Suqian City, Jiangsu Province.
In this instance, CAA said that approximately 60 house church believers were engaged in a bible study at Pastor Cai Zhirong's house when the raid occurred.
According to an eyewitness account reported by CAA, the PSB officers used electric shock batons to beat those believers who refused to be taken away because the police didn't have an arrest warrant.
Nevertheless, after 10 hours of intensive interrogation, all 11 pastors including South Korean Pastor Cui Rongbo (Korean name unavailable) along with his two translators Pastor Cai Zhirong and Pastor Wu Changle were released, CAA said.
Still, on May 11, South Korean Pastor Cui was taken away again by the Chinese authority and ordered to leave China within 48 hours. Pastor Cui left China on May 13, CAA said.
CAA said that it has also learned that the legal scholar Dr. Fan Yafeng was forbidden to go abroad. Dr. Fan is a researcher at China Academy of Social Sciences, a top think tank run by the Chinese government. At 12:30pm on May 9, Dr. Fan was informed by the customs security official at Beijing Capital Airport that "he has been put on a list of names that are forbidden to go abroad by a higher authority," according to CAA.
"Dr. Fan was on his way to the United States to attend a meeting with President Bush. He was not allowed to attend the Freedom in China Summit on May 2 at the Hudson Institute because of obstacles put in place by the Chinese authorities," said CAA.
That meeting, held last Thursday, was the first time that a sitting US President met a group of Chinese House Church intellectuals at his private residence in the White House.
US President George W. Bush, along with Vice-President Dick Cheney, Mr. Bush's National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, Mr. Josh Bolton, the White House Chief of Staff and the President's senior Advisor Mr. Michael Gerson as well as the White House press secretary Tony Snow were informed about the situation in China and the latest development of religious freedom in China in the meeting
"This new wave of arrests is certainly a contradiction to the Chinese government's commitment to religious freedom," said Rev. Bob Fu of CAA, "We urge the Chinese government to take concrete actions to demonstrate the true spirit of rule of law."