Beijing Christians Detained
for Planning to Show Religious Freedom
January 30, 2011,
Beijing, China.
Three Christians were taken to the police station, and five more were house
arrested, simply because they wanted to show the world through a Belgium TV
Station that they enjoyed some freedom of religion in China. However, finally
they realized that they were deceived and there was no true religious freedom
at all.
Yonghai Xu, the leader of a house church
“Beijing Christian House Church Love Fellowship”, was very excited a week ago
when knowing a Belgium TV station would interview his church. This TV station followed a Belgium Catholic
Bishop who was visiting China and planned to worship in an official catholic
church, Beijing Catholic South Church, on Sunday January 30th. This
TV station planned to interview a house church after the worship in the
official church in order to tell the world the “religious freedom” enjoyed by
both the official church and house church.
So they chose Xu’s
church for interview. Xu and his church members were very excited and wanted to
show the world that they did enjoy religious freedom to certain degree.
However, on that very day, January 30th, the worship was
stopped by the police. Three of the Xu’s church
members were taken to Jingshan Police Station, five were housed arrested including
Xu himself, and more were warned by the police not to attend the church. The
police threatened that they had a serious issue. At the end, the once-deceived
Christians realized that what they thought were completely wrong, and they did
not have any true freedom of religion at all.
An appealing letter from Christians
detained in Beijing
----Please
pray for us and let more people know
By Yonghai Xu
Beijing
Christian House Church Holy Love Fellowship
January 30th, 2011 Monday 11:00 a.m.
Pastor Fenggang Liu and brother Jinglu Liang (who was the host of the house church gathering)
were captured by the police at Liang’s home this morning. Believers Yonghai Xu, Hongming Gao, Genshi Wu, Jin Yang and Depu He who was just released from prison were detained at
home by the police. Those who were at Liang’s home like Sister Ling Wang were
also taken by the police to be interrogated. Therefore, our worship and fellowship
was stopped by the police.
One week
ago, a Belgium
TV station told us that they were following a Belgium Catholic archbishop who would
visit China and planned to worship in an official Catholic church Beijing South
Catholic Church in the morning on January 30th. After that, the TV
station crew would like to visit a house church to report the religious freedom
enjoyed by both the official church and house church. They chose our house
church for interview.
Since the
Spring Festival was around the corner, some brothers and sisters like Shigen Hu planned to visit their relatives in other cities
and probably would not be able to come to the church. Some of others like Jianying Jia had to work on January
30th because of the holiday schedule and also would not be able to
come. For these reasons, there would not be many people coming to the church.
Therefore, our church decided to have the worship together with the Fellowship
of Lord’s Love shepherded by Pastor Fenggang Liu. Most
members in the Fellowship of Lord’s Love have had worship and fellowships
together with us for many years and we were originally one church. We split
into two churches for better preaching the Gospel. Pastor Fenggang
Liu was a formally ordained pastor and he could wear pastor’s apparel at
worship. The Belgium TV was very happy for this arrangement, and especially there
would be a pastor with formal apparel to lead the worship. Thus we decided worship
together, and sent text messages to all the members that the meeting would be
held at Jinglu Liang's home in Sanyanjing
but not at my house this time.
However,
this worship which was supposed to show would the religion freedom in China through
the Belgium TV, was stopped by the police. It proves that there is no such
freedom in China and we have a long way to achieve this goal.
Our
fellowship was stopped by the police, and Brothers Fenggang
Liu, Jinglu Liang, sister Ling Wang are still held in custody in the police station. Brothers Hongming Gao, Shigen
Hu, Jin Yang and Yonghai Xu are arrested at home, Dongping Bai, Xueqing
Wang, Guoqiang Ye and other brothers and sisters in
Lord are worried about being taken by the police on their way home. We hope all
the bodies in Lord pray for us and let more friends know. Thank you!
January 30th, 2011 Sunday 3:00 p.m.
The police
told Sister Ling Wang who was taken to the police station that the fellowship at
Yonghai Xu’s home had a
very serious issue. In other words, we had not only commited
a crime but a very serious one. But what kind of crime did we commit? Or is it a
crime that we believe in Jesus Christ? Or is it a crime that we hold a house
church in Christ? Therefore, we appeal all the believers in Lord, please pray
for us and pay your attentions to this affair. This is the reason I am writing
this letter.
I. Some of us
were taken to the police station.
This is the
text message sent by Sister Ling Wang who was almost 60 year-old and was taken
to the Jingshan Police Station simply because attending the Christian house
church: "Still waiting for being escorted to home (by again the Sun Palace,
meaning the police station in charge of where she lives). But they still have
not shown up. Fenggang Liu is still inside and I am
in the lobby now. A whole day already. Fenggang should have some food. The telephone number of
Jingshan Police Station is 65246271. I am not feel well, whole body trembling.
I have no idea when and who from the Sun Palace will come. I do not know what
is going on then. Help me!"
Today, Brothers
Fenggang Liu, sister Ling Wang and brother Jinglu Liang were taken away by the police, and Brothers Hongming Gao, Jin Yang, Yonghai
Xu, Shigen Hu and Jianguo Zha, Depu He detained at home and
not allowed to go out. Other believers in Lord such as Rui Zhu, Xueqing Wang, Dongping Bai, Guoqiang
Ye were forced to leave when they came to Liangjing
Lu's home and saw so many police there.
II. Some of
us were detained at home.
This
morning, Hongming Gao sent a
text message to me saying “Someone is here. I cannot go.” It seemed that he was
detained at home and not allowed to go to the church today. I guessed it should
be the same to me. Therefore, I took ten Bibles and a cross (which is going to
be used for the worship) and went downstairs to the room outside the yard which
was built five years ago to watch me. Not in surprise, besides the regular
police, a policeman from Dewai Police Station was waiting
for me. He told me that I must stay at home and not allowed to go outside
today.
So I was
kept at home and could not go to the church. I went outside the watching room
and stepping up to my room. But suddenly I realized that today was the Lord’s day, and we should separate this special day to
worship the God and spreading the gospel. Even we could not go to the church, I must spread out gospel for my Lord. Then I came
back to the watching room and asked the police whether they had the Holy Bible
or not. They said "no", so I gave a Holy Bible to each of them and said,"Jesus loves you."
Back to
home, I got to know Shigen Hu, Jin Yang and Depu He were also kept at home. Ling Wang, Fenggang Liu and Jinglu Liang
were taken by the police. Xueqing Wang, Guoqiang Ye, Dongping Bai had to leave Jinglu Liang's
home since so many police were there. At the noon, I got a phone call from Rui
Zhu saying that she was late and asking why no people were there. Another call
from Jianguo Zha said that
the police had already told him not to go to my church and was also kept at
home today.
Yonghai Xu
Room 501,
Gate 6, No. 10, Deshengmenwai, Xinfengnanli,
Xicheng District, Beijing.
Zip code:
100088.
Telephone:
86-10-82082198
Email:
xuyonghai@yahoo.com.cn
The phone
numbers of other Christians who were detained at home,
captured or forced to leave the church:
Hongming Gao: 13522267658
Shigen Hu:
13681546847
Jin Yang:
86955745
Depu He: 15101084969
Jinglu
Liang: 86189848
Fenggang
Liu: 18600024251
Ling Wang: 15201472645
Xueqing
Wang: 13683388076
Guoqing Ye:
81627012
Dongping Bai: 13611155064