October 21, that her husband has been arrested on charges of "subverting the national government," a religious rights group said.
In a statement sent to BosNewsLife The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), which has close knowledge of the case, said Gou Qinghui received the official notification from the Chinese authorities nearly a month after her husband’s detention on September 26.
Chinese law states that the families of arrested persons will be notified within 24 hours of arrest, VOM explained, adding that Chinese officials had indirectly apologized for the delay.
"According to the note, signed by officers Zhang Dang Yi and Li Hai Tao, they received the wrong address from Xiao during his interrogation, and therefore could not meet the deadline established by Chinese law," the organization explained.
PRESSURE
"This is a clear result of pressure put on by Christians around the world," said VOM spokesman Todd Nettleton. "They had to come up with an excuse for why they didn’t follow their own law." He said that Beijing Public Security Bureau (PSB), a Chinese secret service and security service, knows where Brother Xiao lives.
"In fact they have been monitoring his wife’s activities. They could have delivered this notice at any time during the past month, but they didn’t until international pressure mounted," Nettleton added.
Sister Gou has been told to notify the PSB before traveling, although she hopes to visit her husband soon, he said. Attorneys plan to visit the Detention Center of Lushan County in Henan Province, where Xiao is being held, later this week.
INVESTIGATION
For another house-church Christian in China, the investigation is ongoing. Liu Feng Guang was arrested some time last week in Xiao-Shan, Zhejiang Province, the well informed VOM said. His apartment in Beijing was searched last week, and police confiscated computers, cameras, an address book and other items.
VOM said it learned Tuesday that PSB officers are now calling all of the people listed in the address book or stored on Liu’s cellular phone.
Liu’s wife, Bi Yu-xia, was told that he would be charged with "leaking state secrets," but she has also not received the official notification required by Chinese law, VOM said.
"CULTS"
Police have reportedly told her that he was being held under "soft detention," rather than criminal detention. Chinese officials have often defended their tough stance towards religious groups, saying they want to defend the country against "dangerous cults."
VOM urged Christians to phone or fax the Xiao-Shan PSB office, which is believed to have ordered the arrest of Brother Liu.
Specifically "American Christians are encouraged to send a fax on his behalf, and Chinese-speakers are encouraged to call. The phone number of the office, when dialled from the US, is 011-86- 571-82622514. The fax number is 011-86-571-82377550."
PRAYERS
VOM said the cel-phone number for the officer in charge of the case, Mr. Chen Feng, the director of the Domestic Security Protection Division of Xiao-Shan PSB is 011-86-13819116336.
"Christians are encouraged to call Chen to protest the treatment of Brother Liu," and also to "pray for this Christian brother and for his wife and four-year-old son," said Nettleton. "The Chinese government doesn’t want the world to know how they treat people of faith, and this case shows how far they will go to silence those who speak out."
News about the apparently ongoing crack-down against house churches comes as networks such as the U.S. based Trinity Broadcasting Network have reported some progress in their negotiations with Chinese authorities to air evangelical programs in China.
Church analysts say the two-steps-forward-one-step-back approach by the Communist authorities are linked to concern they may lose control over the increasing number of Christians in China, which is experiencing the fastest church growth in the world. Christians are held in labor camps and prisons across the country, human rights workers say.
