Thursday, February 17, 2005
TORTURED HOUSE CHURCH LEADER TESTIFIES FOR THE FIRST TIME
By Jeremy Reynalds
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

WASHINGTON D.C. (ANS) -- A member of an underground house church in China told about her experiences of torture, sexual abuse and arbitrary imprisonment by Chinese police.

She spoke at a recent press conference at the National Press Club in Washington D.C.

According to a news release from the China Aid Association (House_Church_Leader)  Ms. Liu Xianzhi, 34, a member of the South China Church, escaped from China last month after serving her sentence in a labor camp making Christmas lights and rugs.  In 2001, the news release continued, police arrested Ms. Liu and tortured her into falsely testifying that the pastor of the South China Church, Gong Shengliang, raped her.

Liu said that her prison experience continues to haunt her.

“When I hear dogs barking, loud knocking on the door, the sound of police sirens, or I see men who are not wearing shirts (like my interrogators), I have an overwhelming sense of fear,” she said in the news release.”

She is one of 8903 members of the South China Church who police have arrested for their religious beliefs, the news release stated, including Pastor Gong, who is serving a life sentence in prison based on multiple confessions obtained through torture.

According to an online blog report (www.blogontheweb.com/sangtalkzone/archive/2005/02/12/43673.aspx),  those abuses have brought a renewed focus by congressional leaders and the United Nations (UN).

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recently released a formal opinion in the case of Mr. Yinan Zhang, a Chinese church leader sentenced to two years of “re-education through labor.”

Zhang was convicted, the blog report said, of “subverting the national government" after police discovered his personal prayer journal. The UN working group concluded that China's arbitrary detentions are a violation of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

The Laogai Research Foundation (LRF) also reported on these issues with China (http://laogai.org/news/newsdetail.php?id=2255).  Of the group of church members and leaders who were arrested in 2001, three were originally sentenced to death. However, due to pressure from UN and human rights organizations, these death sentences were commuted, and Liu and others were released from detention. But after being released, Liu was sentenced to three years in a labor re-education camp. Under this system, LRF reported, Chinese police can place “criminals” in detention for three years without a trial.

During Liu’s time in the camp, LRF reported, Liu was treated especially badly because of her reputation as a member of an “evil cult.” She was not allowed to pray or read the Bible, and she fainted twice from the intense forced heavy labor. When she was interrogated, Liu was forced to take off her clothes, was not given anything to eat and was not allowed to use the bathroom. When her family members came to visit her, they were interrogated by police.

According to LRF, following her release from the labor camp in 2004 Liu was warned that she would be arrested if she resumed her church activities. She was finally able to escape China last month, and now lives in Midland, TX., the home of the China Aid Association.

At the National Press Club news conference, Liu said she hopes telling her story in the U.S. will help bring freedom of belief and release from prison for her brothers and sisters in China.

Joseph Griebosky, president of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, spoke at the National Press Club following Liu’s speech.

Griebosky reminded the audience that Liu's story is one of millions of Chinese victims. He stressed, LRF reported, that the outside world must be aware of what is happening in China, and that we must stand up for people's rights. He said his organization is not calling for an end of trade with China, but rather for “moral investment” in the country and corporate responsibility to work for improved rights there.

China, LRF reported that Griebosky said, must live up to its self proclaimed adherence to human rights as well as its own constitution, which ensures freedom of religious belief.

Griebosky urged U.S. policymakers to stand by the values of the U.S. In addition, he said it is time to draft a China human rights act similar to the recent North Korea Human Rights Act of 2004 that was passed in Congress.

The China Aid Association is a non-profit Christian group focused on promoting religious freedom in China. Additional information is available about its work at www.chinaaid.org