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Group: Chinese Church Activist Charged

Associated Press
Oct. 23, 2003
www.nytimes.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Thursday October 23, 2003

BEIJING (AP) — An activist linked to an unsanctioned Christian church and its imprisoned leader has been charged with subverting state power nearly a month after police detained him central China, a human rights organization reported Thursday.

Xiao Biguang’s arrest in Henan province last month was “probably related to his writing of articles” dealing with “Christian charters” — principles that guide underground church activities in China, according to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy.

Xiao’s wife, Gou Qinghui, received a formal notice from police Tuesday that her husband had been detained, the center said. It said the notice gave no reason for the detention.

Xiao, 44, a leader of the South China Church, and Zhang Yinan, 48, leader of a Henan church, were seized by police Sept. 26. Police told one of Zhang’s relatives the pair’s writing about the Christian charters was the reason, the center said.

It said their relatives had not been allowed to visit them and they had not been permitted to hire lawyers.

Xiao had coordinated the legal defense for Gong Shengliang, who founded the South China Church in the early 1990s and is serving a life sentence after being convicted last October of rape and assault. Supporters say Gong denies the charges; his case is considered sensitive and has long been shrouded in secrecy.

Communist authorities allow worship only in state-monitored churches.

Millions of believers, however, belong to unauthorized congregations and are subject to arrest and harassment. The South China Church at one time claimed to have 50,000 followers in central China.

Earlier this month, the New York-based Human Rights in China said Xiao and Zhang had been arrested while attending a friend’s wedding in Henan. It said police searched Zhang’s home and confiscated his computer and other property.