ICC Note:
Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Chris Smith released a statement condemning the sentencing of the house church pastors known as Yang Hua. Yang Hua was sentenced for 2.5 years on December 26th for “divulging state secrets.” Senator Rubio said in the statement, “The harsh sentence given to Pastor Yang Hua (Li Guozhi) is another sad demonstration of China’s efforts to suppress and control independent religious activity.” Representative Chris Smith said, “These believers desire nothing more than to peacefully live out their faith, yet the Chinese government is treating them as enemies of the state as depriving them of their most basic rights.” China has launched a massive crackdown on underground churches and more recently have cracked down even on their own state-run churches.
1/13/2017 China (China Aid) – U.S. Representative Chris Smith and Senator Marco Rubio released a statement condemning the sentencing of a house church pastor yesterday.
Smith and Rubio, who serve as chair and co-chair, respectively, of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, voiced their concern over the harsh prison term handed to Li Guozhi, who goes by the alias Yang Hua and was tried for “divulging state secrets” on Dec. 26.
Officials originally took Yang into police custody on Dec. 9, 2015, and subjected him to two consecutive, five-day administrative detention periods for “the crime of obstructing justice” and “gathering a crowd to disturb public order” after he tried to prevent authorities from confiscating a church hard drive. When his wife came to collect him on Dec. 20, 2015, she saw him being forced to wear a black hood and herded into an unlicensed vehicle. Upon inquiry, she learned that his charge had been changed to “illegally possessing state secrets,” and that he was being transferred to criminal detention. On Jan. 22, Yang was officially arrested for a fourth charge, “divulging state secrets.”
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