church official was released on bail, representatives said. United States-based China Aid Association (CAA) reported that 30 policeman and staff of the Religious Affairs Bureau arriving in five vehicles "attacked" a house church in Duolun County in China’s Inner Mongolia region on December 29.
They declared the celebration an "illegal gathering" and "three church leaders were detained and sentenced to 15 days administrative detention," explained CAA, a religious rights group maintaining close contacts with house churches.
The three detained Christian women were identified as Liu Guanghua, 42, Zhi Huiping, 41, and 35-year old Zhi Ruiping. they are being held at Duolun County Detention Centre, CAA said.
LEADER BAILED
CAA also said it learned Lou Yuanqi, a house church leader in Xinjiang province who was rearrested December 23 was released in bail on December 29, pending trial.
Investigators said the arrests were an attempt to deter Christians from holding Christmas celebrations outside the official communist-backed denominations.
Most of China’s estimated 80-million Christians prefer to gather within house churches, observers say.
"To attack and arrest peaceful Christians during the Christmas season is contrary to both the spirit of Christmas and the Chinese law," added CAA President Bob Fu in a statement to BosNewsLife. "We urge the Chinese government to release the three innocent church leaders immediately."
China’s government has denied it targets Christians and says everyone is free to worship within the framework of the country’s laws. (With reports from China).
