[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 137 (Wednesday, October 1, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1943-E1944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION OF ROMAN CATHOLICS IN CHINA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 1, 2003

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, you may recall that on September 25, I shared 
with our colleagues that I have been meeting with a number of groups 
who have been working for years to document and bring to our attention 
the numerous abuses committed by the Chinese government upon its own 
people.
  The Roman Catholic Church is one such group whose bishops, priests 
and congregations face continual harassment and persecution. I urge 
colleagues to read the following statement, provided by the Cardinal 
Kung Foundation, and hope that it will move them to action as it has 
moved me.

  ``In Their Own Words'' Statements on Persecution of the Underground 
Roman Catholic Church in China Provided by the Cardinal Kung Foundation

       The promise of religious freedom in China is a false one. 
     The Chinese government severely and systematically persecutes 
     members of China's spiritual communities, including Roman 
     Catholics, Protestants, Evangelical Christians, Tibetan 
     Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, and members of the Falun Gong 
     movement.
       The Chinese government views religion as a threat to its 
     power.
       The Religious Affairs Bureau screens religious groups for 
     official approval or disapproval; monitors membership in 
     religious organizations; and controls locations of meetings, 
     religious training, selection of religious hierarchy, 
     publication of religious materials, and funding for religious 
     activities. Those groups that defy the control of the 
     Religious Affairs Bureau face severe consequences: mass 
     campaigns, surprise raids, imposition of heavy fines, 
     imprisonment, and torture.
       The Chinese government officially permits only those 
     Catholic churches affiliated with the CCPA. The Chinese 
     Catholic congregations that continue to recognize the 
     authority of the Pope constitute the Catholic underground in 
     China.
       The government considers the underground church illegal. 
     Penalties for belonging to the underground Roman Catholic 
     Church include exorbitant fines, imprisonment, house arrest, 
     beatings, and labor camp internment.
       Currently, every one of the underground Roman Catholic 
     Church leaders is either in jail, under house arrest, under 
     strict surveillance, or in hiding.
       Bishop Su Zhimin, the underground Bishop of Baoding, Hebei 
     was arrested in 1997 and has not been heard from since. His 
     location and whether he is alive or dead remain unknown.
       Bishop An Shuxin, the underground auxiliary Bishop of 
     Baoding was arrested in March 1996 and is still in jail.
       Bishop HaN Dingxiang, the underground Bishop of Yong Nian, 
     Hebei was arrested in December 1999 and remains in jail.
       Bishop ShI Enxiang, the underground Bishop of Yixian, Hebei 
     was arrested on April 13, 2001 and is yet to be released.
       Priests face similar harassment.
       Fathers Pang, Ma, and Wang were arrested in July 2002 and 
     were sentenced to three years in a labor camp for 
     ``disturbing the peace of society'' under the ``cult'' law.
       In March 2002 Father Ma Shunbao, 50, was arrested while he 
     was offering Holy Mass on Easter Sunday and in March 2002 
     Father Wang Limao, 32, was arrested.
       In December 2002, Father Pang Yongzing, 30, was arrested in 
     his home.
       Rev. Dong Yingmu, 37, an underground Roman Catholic priest 
     serving the diocese of Baoding was kidnaped by the Chinese 
     authorities during Christmas 2002 when he was on his way to 
     offer a Holy Mass.
       The abuses have continued, recently Father Lin Daoming of 
     Fuzhou, Fujian was arrested in May 2003 when he returned home 
     to visit his mother.
       In June 2003 Father Lu Xiaozhou of Wenzhou, Zhejiang was 
     arrested when he was preparing to administer the Sacrament of 
     Anointing of the Sick to a dying Catholic.
       In July Fathers Chen Guozhen, Kang Fuliang, Li Shujun, Pang 
     Guangzhao, Joseph Yin of Baoding, Hebei were arrested while 
     on their way to visit another underground priest, Father Lu 
     Genjun, who was just released from labor camp after serving 
     there for three years.
       As figureheads for the church Roman Catholic Bishops and 
     Priests are regularly harassed. However, their congregations 
     are not exempt from state oppression.
       On December 12, 2000, the Agency French Press reported that 
     ``authorities in eastern China have shut down, and in many 
     cases blown up, 450 Catholic and Protestant churches, as well 
     as Taoist and Buddhist temples.'' Many more churches have 
     been destroyed since then.
       Six Roman Catholics from Wenzhou and Zhejiang went to 
     DongLu in Baoding, Hebei and were arrested May 2002. They 
     were fined a total of $3,850 for the ``illegal pilgrimage.''
       In July 2002, 31 underground Roman Catholics, 26 of whom 
     were students under the age of 18, were arrested during a 
     summer vacation catechism class in a private home.
       The National Catholic register reported that ``as many as 
     23,686 Christians have been arrested since 1983; 20,000 have 
     been beaten; and 129 have been killed in an effort to stamp 
     out the underground churches.''
       In January 1997, the Cardinal Kung Foundation published a 
     secret Chinese government document titled ``The Procedures 
     Legally to Implement the Eradication of Illegal Activities/
     Operations of the Underground Catholic Church.''
       The above are but a few of the many examples of the harsh 
     and ongoing persecution of underground Roman Catholic clergy 
     and laypersons in China. The Cardinal Kung

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     Foundation has documented many other instances and reported 
     them in its press releases.

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