-Caveat Lector- http://www.scmp.com/News/China/Article/FullText_asp_ArticleID- 19990910030020293.asp Friday, September 10, 1999 Christians face 'harsh prison terms' STAFF REPORTER in Beijing and AGENCIES Thirty-one underground Christians detained in Henan province last month will soon be tried and handed harsh sentences, a church leader said yesterday. David Zhang, who runs the unofficial China Fangcheng Church in the province, told an American-based human rights group that the home church leaders would receive "heavy, long-term" sentences. "The Government already sees home churches as an evil religion and they will take advantage of the repression of the Falun Gong sect to root out our churches," he told Human Rights in China. The 31 church leaders were taken away by police late last month while attending an evangelical meeting in a house west of Tanghe in the southwest region of Henan. Mr Zhang's home was later raided by police who said the minister was under investigation for "harming state security". "The main leaders including Zhang Rongliang, Feng Jianguo, Wang Xincai and Zheng Shuqian will be tried at the Fangcheng County court," Mr Zhang told the rights group. "Sources have told me that Zhang Rongliang may be sentenced to more than 10 years." But an official at the Tanghe County Public Security Bureau said yesterday that most of the detained members had been released after receiving "re-education". "The people remaining in custody have not yet been tried and are still under investigation for activities in relation to evil religions," he said, but refused to give the number still detained. The rights group said it was alarming that the authorities seemed to have abandoned all legal procedures in handling the Christians. The speed in which they were to be sentenced indicated the authorities were determined to uproot the underground church in Henan - a traditional stronghold for Christians. Coincidentally, five Falun Gong members have been detained by Beijing police for attending a gathering in defiance of the ban on the sect. According to the Beijing Morning Post, 19 people recently showed up for a meeting on the lawn behind the Beijing Exhibition Hall. It was held at the behest of Jiang Shilong, a member of Hainan province's Falun Gong branch. Mr Jiang sought the help of Jilin province member Li Hongbing, who introduced him to Zhu Shuyuan, director of a local Beijing branch of Falun Gong. Together they organised the event, which discussed the situation in Hainan and Beijing. Police arrived and seized everyone. Members who are not Beijing residents have been sent back to their towns. Kathleen "The homicidal state shares one trait with the solitary killer--like all murderers, it trips on its own egoism and drops a trai l of clues which, when properly collected, preserved, and analyzed are as damning as a signed confession left in the grave." - Forensic Anthropologist Clyde Snow DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
