Beijing house church and human rights activist Hua Huiqi has again been brutally attacked by security police. And there are reports that his elderly mother - allegedly jailed to put pressure on her son - is now dying, after she, too, was severely beaten. 

According to Human Rights Watch, Chinese Christians are caught up in the ‘worst crackdown against dissidents in five years’.

Among them is Hua Huiqi, who came to the attention of the authorities for working with poor people travelling to Beijing from the provinces in search of justice. 

Ironically, the authorities accused Hua of ‘obstructing justice’ and jailed him earlier this year. They also sentenced Hua’s elderly mother for two years’ in what was widely interpreted as a move to silence her son.

The clampdown on the family began when the authorities pulled down their home to make way for the 2008 Olympic Games. Police beat Hua and his mother Shuang Shuying when they reported the forced demolition.

Hua has criticised the international community’s decision to stage the Olympic Games in a country without human rights. ‘It will forever remain a stain in the history of the Olympics,’ he said, ‘much like the Olympics hosted by Hitler in Germany.’

While he was in jail Hua says the police continually told him that they would let his mother go if he gave them the names of his contacts and abandoned his Christian work. He refused. 

But Hua’s ordeal did not end when he was released in July after six months behind bars. 

Public Security Bureau officials beat him so severely they left him unconscious for three days and in need of hospital treatment. China Aid reports that ‘two dozen police disguised as doctors’ were assigned to guard his hospital bed, to ensure Hua did not receive visits from relatives or journalists.

Another beating followed only hours after he was sent home from hospital. When Hua tried to use the bathroom next to his bedroom, PSB officers attacked him again, according to RI sources. They forced Hua to stay in his bedroom with his wife Wei Jumei, who had to attend to his wounds. 

‘Whether I live or die, it doesn’t matter,’ said Hua, ‘as long as Christ shines on me, and the gospel and Christ’s love is spread. Please pray for the Chinese police. Ask God to soften their hearts and pray for the early release of my mother.’

Release International has produced a one-minute video alert about Shuang Shuying, which can be downloaded from: http://www.releaseinternational.org/videoalert  The aim is to spread the clip across the Internet to raise awareness and prayer for Shuang and her son.

According to AsiaNews, persecution against Evangelicals has been stepped up in the build-up to the Beijing Olympic Games. And Human Rights Watch confirms that Christians are caught up in the biggest clamp-down against dissidents in China in five years.

AsiaNews reports claims that in recent years the authorities have arrested almost 24,000 Protestants and sentenced more than 4,000 to re-education in labour camps. According to the report, 129 Protestants have been killed by the authorities. 

Release International’s CEO Andy Dipper says: ‘The plight of Hua and his elderly mother wipe the gloss off the Olympics and reveal the true face of China today. Thank God for the courage of Hua and his wife Wei Jumei. Ask God to protect and strengthen them and fill them with his peace. And continue to pray for the immediate release of Hua’s mother Shuang Shuying, who is in poor health.’

Through its international network of missions Release International serves persecuted Christians in 30 countries, supporting pastors and Christian prisoners and their families, supplying Christian literature and Bibles, and working for justice. RI is a member of the UK organisations Global Connections, the Evangelical Alliance and the Micah Network.

Human Rights Watch story reported on: http://chinaaid.org/2007/10/12/beijing-police-beat-underground-christian/ 

China Aid has posted a statement from Hua Huiqi on http://chinaaid.org/2007/10/04/pray-for-the-police-of-the-chinese-communist-party/ 

Shuang Shuying was sentenced to two years by Beijing Chongwen District People’s Court on February 26, 2007 charged with wilfully damaging public and private property. Shuang Shuying backgrounder: http://chinaaid.org/2007/08/30/seventy-seven-year-old-near-death-after-torture-in-jail/ 

A statement by Hua’s wife in support of Shuang Shuying is on http://chinaaid.org/2007/08/17/jailed-elder-beijing-church-activist-life-in-danger-relatives-appeal-for-medical-parole/ 

For further information, please contact Andrew Boyd on 01730 301905 or 07986 712 813, or contact Release International on 01689 823491 or by email at info@releaseinternational.org