[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 116 (Thursday, September 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1858-E1859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PETITION TO RELEASE ROMAN CATHOLIC FAITHFUL FROM CHINESE PRISONS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 15, 2005

  Mr. WOLF.  Mr. Speaker, upon the 50th anniversary of the Communist 
government assault on the Roman Catholic Church in Shanghai, I wish to 
submit for the Record a letter

[[Page E1859]]

from the Cardinal Kung Foundation to Chinese President Ju Hintao. The 
Cardinal Kung Foundation advocates on behalf of the persecuted 
underground Catholic church in China.

                                                September 1, 2005.
     President Hu Jintao,
     People's Republic of China, c/o Ambassador Yang Jiechi, 
         Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Connecticut 
         Avenue, NW Washington, DC.
       Dear President Hu: September 8, 2005 will be remembered as 
     your historical first visit to the United States and to Yale 
     University as the President of the People's Republic of 
     China. The world will be eagerly listening to your vision for 
     China. However, September 8, 2005 is also being observed by 
     12 million Roman Catholics in China and millions more 
     worldwide as the 50th anniversary of the unjust and brutal 
     assault on the Roman Catholic Church in Shanghai when the 
     Chinese government simultaneously arrested the late Bishop 
     Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei, at the time the Roman Catholic Bishop 
     of Shanghai, 21 priests, 2 nuns, and approximately 300 Roman 
     Catholics for practicing their Roman Catholic religion.
       Today, fifty years later, we commemorate and weep silently 
     about this gross injustice and tragedy that your government 
     had inflicted upon these innocent Catholic religious and 
     faithful. All of them were sentenced to 10-30 years and even 
     to life imprisonment. In honor of these bloodless martyrdoms, 
     the late Pope John Paul II secretly (in pectore) elevated 
     Bishop Kung Pin-Mei to a Cardinal in 1979 while he was still 
     in jail and publicly proclaimed him a cardinal in 1991 amidst 
     a 7-minute standing ovation before an audience of 7,000 
     people.
       Since 1949 when your government took over China, literally 
     tens of thousands of Roman Catholic bishops, priests, nuns, 
     and their faithful have been imprisoned for 5, 10, 20, 30 or 
     even 40 years. Many of them, such as Bishop Fan Xueyan of 
     Baoding (34 years in solitary confinement), died in jail. 
     Some of them are still in jail on this date or have vanished 
     after they were arrested. Many of them were released after a 
     very long period in jail. Some of those released are still 
     living in China or in other parts of the world. Some, such as 
     Cardinal Kung Pin-Mei, whom the late Pope John Paul II called 
     ``this noble son of China and of the Church'' (30 years in 
     solitary confinement and 2.5 years in house arrest), and 
     Archbishop Dominic Tan Yee-Ming of Canton (24 years in jail 
     without a trial), have since died.
       It does not matter if these prisoners are dead or living 
     today. They are still considered criminals because the 
     ``criminal'' charges against them were never erased by your 
     government.
       There are thousands more like Cardinal Kung, Bishop Fan and 
     Archbishop Tang. They are all loyal citizens of China and 
     they love China.
       Mr. President, you have the power and the leadership to 
     bring modern China into an era of true religious freedom. Mr. 
     President, you also have the wisdom and historical acumen to 
     realize that a country without religious freedom is never 
     peaceful and constructive. You know the importance of 
     changing the world's perception of China's human rights 
     policy for the better and you can do it. And, we pray that 
     you will do it.
       The Chinese government has justifiably exonerated numerous 
     political prisoners in the past. On this 50th anniversary of 
     the unjust and brutal assault of the Roman Catholic Church in 
     Shanghai described above, the Cardinal Kung Foundation 
     appeals to you once again, as we have appealed to your 
     Ambassador Yang Jiechi on March 23, 2005, that all these 
     prisoners, including Cardinal Kung, Bishop Fan and Archbishop 
     Tang and many others, both living and dead, be officially and 
     posthumously exonerated of so called crimes of which the 
     Chinese government falsely and unjustly accused them, some as 
     long as five decades ago. We also appeal to you to release 
     all current religious prisoners from prison and labor camp as 
     per the attached list. By your doing so, the reputation of 
     these living and dead religious prisoners of conscience in 
     China can be restored. Those who are still living can at 
     least once again enjoy equal treatment in the society. To do 
     so will be a powerful testimony to the Chinese government's 
     respect for and adherence to human rights and liberty. To do 
     so will also prove that China is honoring the spirit of the 
     Olympic Games that you will have the honor of hosting in 
     2008.
       God love you.
       Thank you.
           Yours truly,
                                                      Joseph Kung,
     President, Cardinal Kung Foundation.

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