Missing Christian lawyer found

(Photo courtesy China Aid)

China (CAA/MNN) -- For the first time since he disappeared nearly two years ago, a U.S.-based Chinese human rights group can confirm the wherabouts of Christian human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng.

ChinaAid, a partner of The Voice of the Martyrs USA,learned January 1 that Gao is being held at Shaya Prison in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, western China. The notification was signed and dated on Dec. 19 by the prison.

According to ChinaAid, police took Gao into custody again on April 2010, the most recent arrest since a 2006 conviction on a subversion charge.

Then, on December 16, shortly before his five-year probation period was to have ended, the Chinese government sentenced him to three more years for violating his probation. The good news was that Gao was still alive, but the bad news was they still didn't know where he was or if he was healthy.   

Gao is best known for defending cases of religious persecution, including house church leaders and members of Falun Gong.

ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu says of his friend, "Gao's internal exile reminds the world of how former Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov was cruelly treated in Siberia in the 1980s."

Fu goes on to say that "the Chinese government can use this remote jail to prevent concerned people from visiting Attorney Gao, but just like Sakharov, Gao's courageous voice can never be silenced by the four walls of his prison cell."

China religious freedom record on display

Belgium (MNN) ― Religious freedom is nonexistent in China, according to ChinaAid  founder and president Bob Fu. He'll be testifying before the European Parliament on Wednesday.
Fu said human rights and religious freedom in China have deteriorated to its lowest point since the period after the crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square student-led pro-democracy demonstration.
Fu and several other ChinaAid witnesses were invited by the European Parliament to testify at its hearing on "the human rights situation in China" at the parliament building in Brussels, Belgium.
The next day, the delegation will be in The Netherlands to participate in a human rights forum on "the situation of Christians in China," where Fu will be making a similar presentation on the serious deterioration of religious freedom, the rule of law and human rights in general.
At the EU hearing, ChinaAid will deliver recommendations that were requested to help the European Union set its China policy and address human rights problems in China. In attendance at the hearing will be members of the European Parliament and their assistants.
This is the second time that ChinaAid and Fu have appeared before the European Parliament. In 2009, Fu and two Christian lawyers engaged in rights defense work also testified before the same body.

Fu expressed appreciation to the European Parliament for the opportunity to testify.
"The grave human rights violations by the Chinese government [are] a global issue," said Fu. "We urge the European leaders to take more concrete steps to encourage the Chinese government to improve its record by building an international coalition founded on an unwavering solidarity with the Chinese rights defenders community."
In Ridderkerk, The Netherlands, the ChinaAid delegation will be speaking to an audience of mainly NGOS, representatives of the missionary organizations of several churches, some individuals with ties to China and members of the Dutch Political Reformed Party (SGP), Holland's most orthodox Protestant party, as well as members of the Dutch media.

ChinaAid Seeks Special UN Investigation of Missing Human Rights Lawyer Gao Zhisehng

By Jeremy ReynaldsSenior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service


GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (ANS) -- ChinaAid has formally requested a special U.N. investigation into the torture of missing Christian lawyer Gao Zhisheng.

Gao Zhisheng

ChinaAid said Aug. 15 was the five-year anniversary of his first kidnaping by Chinese police.

ChinaAid said the request was submitted by its legal counsel, and filed with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture.

According to ChinaAid, Gao was taken by police on Aug. 15 2006 from his sister's home and held for unknown reasons. It wasn't until Sept. 21 2006 that the Chinese government announced he was being charged with inciting subversion.

In March 2010, ChinaAid said, the NGO Freedom Now partnered with a number of human rights specialists in filing a petition before the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. That resulted in a U.N. finding of serious wrongdoing by the Chinese government, which had failed to even reply to the U.N. inquiry.

ChinaAid said China basically told the U.N. and the rest of the world to "mind its own business," because Gao's case was a matter of China's internal affairs, adding that China is a country under rule of law.

ChinaAid Founder and President Bob Fu and its legal counsel David E. Taylor said in a news release they expect that China is likely to respond similarly to this request for a special U.N. investigation.

Nonetheless, they believe it is important for the international community to see how negatively the Chinese Communist Party responds with arrogance and recalcitrance to the U.N. They also want to show the world, especially Gao's family and the Chinese government, that Gao has not been forgotten.

For more information about ChinaAid go to www.chinaaid.org

---

Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter,http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City." Additional details on "Homeless in the City" are available at http://www.homelessinthecity.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds atjeremyreynalds@comcast.net.

China: CSW Calls for Release of Gao Zhiseng

The missing Christian human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng’s 2006 probationary sentence for “subversion of state power” is due to expire on 14 August. He has not been heard from for almost 18 months and repeated inquiries to the Chinese authorities have not been met with a response, says a Christian Solidarity Worldwise release. Gao Zhisheng was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and five years’ probation in 2006. In a letter to Gao, published by China Aid, his wife Geng He wrote, “This August 14 is the last day of the probation period and should be the date when you regain freedom. I am looking forward to this day and to hearing your voice and to our family being reunited. The whole family looks forward to this day!” The prominent self-taught lawyer, twice-nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, first went missing on 4 February 2009. Following a brief reappearance in March 2010, Gao went missing again on 20 April as he travelled home to Beijing after visiting relatives in Xinjiang province. He reported being subject to severe torture in detention and there are grave concerns for his health and wellbeing.