China Aid has learned that pastor Zhang Mingxuan was detained at 12:08pm on June 18(Beijing Time) along with his interpreter when he was on his way to meet with a seninor EU official.
According to a brief conversation over the phone at about 7:25pm Wednesday ( Beijing time) with pastor Zhang who is being held at a PSB office in Beijing, (Zhang was forced to shut down his cellphone by a PSB officer) , CAA president Bob Fu was told that pastor Zhang was detained on a bus while he and his interpreter were on their way to meet with Dr. Bastiaan Belder(MEP), Rapporteur of the EP Committee of Foreign Affairs for the relationship between the EU and China, at Yanshan Hotel in Haidian District. They are both are being detained at the Shuangyushu PSB office of Haidian District, Beijing city. Pastor Zhang Mingxuan is the president of Chinese House Church Alliance. CAA urges the Chinese government to release pastor Zhang immediately and unconditionally.
Zhang Mingxuan, president of the Chinese house church alliance, issued three open letters to the international community last year, informing the world of the sufferings and persecutions he has endured at the hands of the CPC. Detailed in his 3rd open letter are the many hardships and injustices pastor Zhang has had to endure throughout the years since becoming an outspoken evangelist and leader of the house church alliance. Since his conversion to Christianity in 1986, Pastor Zhang has been arrested, beaten and incarcerated 12 times. Most recently, PSB and State officials forced Zhang to close the orphanage he had been running with his two sons. Zhang and the orphans have continued to look for places of residence, but have been refused several times by landlords who have been threatened by officials not to lease to Zhang.
To voice your concern over the injustices Pastor Zhang has been forced to endure please contact:
The Office of PSB of Shuangyushu, Haidian District:
Tel: +86-10-62561316
Chinese Embassy in Washington DC
Address: 2201 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20007
Tel: (202) 338-6688, (202)5889760
Fax: (202) 588-9760
Issued by CAA, June 18, 2008
