Contact: Bob Fu, China Aid Association, 267-205-5210, info@ChinaAid.org; www.chinaaid.org, www.monitorchina.org

MIDLAND, Texas, Mar. 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- CAA has learned a senior House Church leader was released after serving ten days administrative detention. Pastor Dong Quanyu was released from the Wancheng Detention Center, Nanyang city, Henan province at 9pm on March 16, 2007(Beijing time). He was detained along with 33 other House church leaders and three pastors from South Korea while they were having a Bible study together on March 6. After intensive international pressure the local police released 33 arrested house church leaders and three leaders from South Korea on March 7. One leader pastor Dong Quanyu was sentenced to 10 days administrative detention for an "illegal gathering".

Photo: the arrested pastor Dong Quanyu

Pastor Dong is the vice-President of Chinese House Church Alliance. The authority refused to issue any official paper for his detention and release. Pastor Dong asked China Aid to pass on his thanks for the effort of all of the brothers and sisters from the international community. According to interviews with some released pastors, the interrogators have been receiving phone calls from all over the world after China Aid released its press release regarding the arrest.

CAA also learned that Beijing house church activist Hua Huiqi's 77-year-old mother, Ms. Shuang Shuying, filed her formal appeal to Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court for re-trial. She was sentenced to two years by Beijing Chongwen District People's Court on February 26, 2007 on the charge of willfully damaging public and private property. Ms. Shuang was accused of using her cane to destroy the hood of the Police Sonata sedan and the Jinque numerically controlled touch-screen. On February 7, when Ms. Shuang went to the Chongwen District government building seeking the whereabouts of her arrested son, pastor Hua Huiqi, a police car tried to run over her and she used her cane to protect herself. She was then forcefully put into a reception room by a group of PSB officers. During the struggle, her cane hit the police car and the touch-screen. Then without allowing anytime to cross-examine any of the evidence the prosecutors brought against Ms. Shuang, the court of first trial rushed to a verdict on the first work day after the Chinese New Year holiday. It is believed that by arresting pastor Hua and holding his mother for two years in prison until then end of 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, the Beijing authority intends to clean up the "trouble makers". Both pastor Hua and his mother have been very active in defending the persecuted Christians and other socially oppressed groups in China.

According to the appeal paper, Ms. Shuang Shuying does not accept the criminal verdict of intentional destruction of property issued by Chongwen District People's Court of Beijing Municipality on February 26, 2007 and "The verdict by the first court is not based on facts and legal grounds and therefore the conviction is wrong and the penalty is inappropriate. Therefore, the petitioner requests that the court of appeal repeal the verdict by the court of first trial and rule the petitioner not guilty, handling the case with humanitarian concerns."

Letter of your concern can be sent to:

Premier Wen Jiabao, PRC
PO Box 1741, The State Council, Beijing, PRC (zip code 100017)
Contact Phone:+86-10-66012399

Ms. Wu Aiying, minister of Ministry of Justice of PRC
Tel:+86-10-65205114
Fax:+86-10-64729863
Address: No. 10, Nan Da Jie, Chaoyangmen, Beijing City (Zip Code: 100020)

Press release Issued by CAA on March 16, 2007