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| Hu Shigen being baptized. Photos of this baptism were used to indict Hu. |
ChinaAid
(Washington, D.C.—Aug. 6, 2019) Gary Bauer, a commissioner for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), urged China to release Hu Shigen, a prominent Chinese church leader who has been held in custody for his pro-Christian advocacy since 2015.
According to a press release from USCIRF, Bauer said, “China’s persecution of Christian house churches is a stain on its international reputation. China may strive to be a leading economic power, but the world cannot forget the government’s deplorable treatment of religious believers and peaceful advocates within its borders. Hu Shigen simply called on the Chinese government to let Christians practice their religious beliefs without interference. It’s time for China to drop the unjust charges against Hu and to release him.”
Hu was taken into police custody on July 10, 2015, as China conducted a large sweep of human rights activists across the country. In 2016, a Tianjin court convicted him of “subversion of state power,” using a photo of his baptism as evidence in his trial. He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.
ChinaAid spotlighted him as one of the China18, a group of currently-imprisoned people who have suffered abuses at the hands of the Communist Party for their beliefs. USCIRF’s press release also added that Bauer “adopted Hu Shigen in 2018 as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.”
ChinaAid would like to thank Bauer and USCIRF for their partnership in protecting victims of religious freedom abuse and for their advocacy on behalf of Hu.
ChinaAid exposes abuses in order to stand in solidarity with the persecuted and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law. If you wish to partner with us in helping those persecuted by the Chinese government, please click the button below to make a charitable donation.
ChinaAid Media Team
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