China-U.S. Human Rights Forum to Discuss China’s Transition to Civil Society

China Aid Association
(Washington, D.C. – Jan. 31, 2011) As Christian leaders from around the United States start to gather in the nation’s capital for the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Chinese and U.S. lawyers, academics and religious freedom activists will discuss ways to promote China’s transition to a civil society at a human rights forum Tuesday evening, Feb. 1, at George Mason University.
The first-ever event at GMU is being hosted by the school’s Christian Legal Society and the Midland, Texas-based ChinaAid Association, which is bringing a group of Chinese human rights lawyers and civil society leaders to speak at the forum.
The event, “Human Rights Forum – Walking with the Persecuted Faithful,” will focus on China’s current human rights issues from the perspectives of religious freedom, constitutional law and public policy, how China will transition to a civil society, and the role of faith and justice.
The U.S. speakers will be GMU law Prof. Nathan Sales; Dr Scott Flipsie, deputy director for East Asia of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; and Rev. Patrick Payton, founder and senior pastor of Stonegate Fellowship in Texas. Flipsie will speak on policy concerns regarding civil rights violations in China, and Payton on justice, faith and civil society.
ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu will speak on religious freedom and rule of law in China.
The Chinese delegation includes Zhang Dajun, legal scholar and independent think tank leader; Li Renbing, a human rights lawyer; and Pastor Zheng Leguo, representing persecuted church leaders. Each will speak about their personal experiences in China and will address issues including limitations on speech, assembly, internet use, and religious freedom.
“This will be a vital and timely discussion regarding the path of China’s transition to a civil society governed by the rule of law from the current state of massive official corruption and enormous social injustice,” said ChinaAid’s Fu. “We are thankful that George Mason University law school has made this event possible by providing their professional inputs and a venue.”
The forum, which is open to the public, will be held at the GMU Law School’s brand new Founders Hall auditorium from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday Feb. 1. The address is 3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22201. 
Forum participants are available for interviews before the event. A reception will follow the event. The Christian Legal Society contact for the event is: Joel Miller, email: [email protected], phone:330-204-9022.
Co-sponsors of the event are APALSA, the J. Reuben Clark Society, the International Law Society, and the Thomas More Society.
ChinaAid, which was founded in 2002 to draw international attention to China’s gross human rights violations against house church Christians, monitors and reports on religious freedom violations in China. Drawing on a wide network of sources throughout the country, ChinaAid issues frequent news releases on cases of religious persecution in China. It also assists victims of religious persecution to assert their rights and works to promote the rule of law in China.
ChinaAid has earned an international reputation as a reliable source of the most up-to-date information about religious persecution and the overall human rights situation in China. Fu has testified before many government and international organizations, including various U.S. congressional committees, the European Parliament and the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.


China Aid Contacts
Rachel Ritchie, English Media Director
Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.chinaaid.org

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