Author:
Publication: Catholic World News
Date: June 20, 2001
A group of twelve Christians arrested
by Communist Chinese police last month have been sentenced to "reeducation
through labor" camps for up to three years, a Hong Kong-based human rights
group said on Wednesday.
The twelve were among 35 people
arrested on May 26 during an illegal Protestant house-church service, although
most were released after receiving stiff fines, according to the Information
Center for Human Rights and Democracy. The remainder refused to pay the
fine and later sentenced for "illegal religious activities."
The Communist Chinese government
requires Christians to worship only in state-controlled associations including
the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections
to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics worship in churches that, while
openly loyal to the government association, secretly pledge allegiance
to the Pope.
In an unrelated event, Christians
in the Lanzhou in western China planned a "large-scale" protest after the
state-owned Lanzhou Oil Co. and Lanzhou Qilihe Real Estate Co. occupied
land belonging to the Church of Lanzhou without providing any compensation.
The church sued the two businesses and won a settlement, but has yet to
receive any of the promised payment, the statement said. A protest planned
for May 27 aimed at winning provincial government attention for the case
was blocked by the Provincial Religious Bureau, it said.
