Gao Zhisheng visited by family in prison

Gao with his family in January 2009.
Photo: ChinaAid

The relatives of prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng have finally been allowed to visit him in prison, reports VOM partner, ChinaAid.

The visit has put to rest fears that the pioneer in the growing Christian legal defense movement in the country had died during the two-plus years of his forced disappearance into police custody.

Gao’s older brother and his father-in-law were permitted a half-hour meeting with Gao on March 24 at the Shaya prison, in a remote part of Xinjiang in far western China. They were able to see each other through a glass window and converse using a prison phone.

Gao’s wife, Geng He, recently telephoned ChinaAid’s founder and president Rev. Bob Fu confirming the meeting and providing details. She said that her husband broke into tears when her father told Gao, “My health is greatly improved now that I have seen you.”

Gao, who has disappeared into police custody several times since 2006, was last seen by his family members in April 2010 when he briefly resurfaced after a previous long period of disappearance.  During that time, he gave an extensive interview to the Associated Press in which he gave a detailed account of brutal torture inflicted on him by Chinese police.

Gao’s wife said he looked fine during the weekend prison visit, which was conducted under the watchful eye of prison officials and Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials. The PSB instructed Gao’s family members not to talk to the outside world about the visit.

PSB officers from Gao’s hometown in Shaanxi province had accompanied Gao’s older brother, Gao Zhiyi, on the entire trip from central China, a journey of more than 3,000 kilometres to Shaya.

Gao’s brother cried a lot and said to Gao's wife, “I am relieved after finally being able to see that he is at least alive.”

Thank the Lord that Gao was able to visit with his family! Please also consider writing a letter to Gao, reminding him that many around the world are praying for him.

Gao Zhisheng
Shaya Prison
Shaya County Aksu Prefecture
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 842208

Please note: When writing a letter, never mention the name of the source of your information or the name of any organization such as Voice of the Martyrs or Prisoner Alert. It is not dangerous for a prisoner to receive letters from individuals, but if an organization is mentioned they may be accused of links with “foreign organizations” and receive harsher sentences. Also, please do not state anything negative about their government. For more information on letter writing, please click here. To create a letter using phrases in Gao’s own language, click here.

Imprisoned priest in Vietnam remains seriously ill

Please pray for Father Ly!

Father Nguyen Van Ly, 65, a Catholic priest sentenced to eight years in prison in 2007, remains seriously ill, reports Human Rights Watch.

In March 2010, Father Ly was released from prison on a temporary medical parole after suffering three strokes in prison. He was returned to jail on July 25, 2011, to serve the remainder of his sentence (for more information, click here).

Since 1977, Father Ly has spent a total of 15 years in prison for his work in advocating religious freedom, democracy and human rights in Vietnam.

“Father Ly was convicted solely for expressing peaceful political beliefs and he should never have been imprisoned in the first place,” Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said. “We are concerned that his return to prison when he is so ill is putting his life at grave risk.”

You can help by praying!

• Pray that Father Ly will know the Lord’s care and provision in his life. 
• Pray that the charges against Father Ly will be dropped. Pray for his healing. 
• Pray that Father Ly’s testimony will embolden other Vietnamese Christians.
• Pray that religious freedom and human rights will be respected in Vietnam.

Please remember Father Ly in your personal prayers as well as in prayers with your family, prayer group or congregation. You can also post your prayers in the comments section below. 

Investigation requested for missing human rights lawyer in China

Gao last seen with his family in January 2009.
(Photo: ChinaAid) 

VOM partner ChinaAid formally requested a special UN investigation into the torture of missing Christian lawyer Gao Zhisheng on August 15, the five-year anniversary of his first kidnapping by police. The request was submitted by ChinaAid's legal counsel and was filed with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture.

Human rights lawyer Gao was taken by police on August 15, 2006, from his sister's home and held incommunicado until the Chinese government announced on September 21 that he was being charged with inciting subversion (for more information, click here).

In March 2010, a group of human rights specialists filed a petition before the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which resulted in the discovery of serious wrongdoing by the Chinese government. However, Chinese authorities failed to even reply to the UN enquiry. Those involved were told that Gao's case is a matter of China's internal affairs, adding that the country is under rule of law.

ChinaAid founder and president, Bob Fu, and the organization's legal counsel, David E. Taylor, expect that China is likely to respond similarly to this request for a special UN investigation. "Nonetheless, we believe it is important for the international community to see again how the Chinese Communist Party responds with arrogance and recalcitrance to the UN, and to show the world, especially Gao's family and the Chinese government, that Gao has not been forgotten for even one second and never will be," Taylor said.

Please pray for Gao and his family!

• Pray that Gao and his family members remain steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:8-10). 
• Ask the Lord to use this current investigation request for His glory and for the benefit of Gao and other Chinese believers who are currently in prison for their faith in Christ.
• Pray that many more in China will come to know Christ as their Lord and Saviour. 

How will North Korean succession affect Christians?

North Korea

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) sponsors a WEA-RLC Research & Analysis Report to help individuals and groups pray for and act on religious liberty issues around the world. A recent report explores what a change in leadership in North Korea and will mean for persecuted Christians living in the communist nation.

Since its formation in 1948, atheistic North Korea has been ruled by one family. The current leader, 68-year-old Kim Jong Il, suffers from a long list of health issues and is believed to have had a stroke in 2008. His youngest son, 28-year-old Kim Jong-un, is likely to be his successor.

As the report notes, the likely succession is significant because it concerns a nuclear-armed regime that has been one of the world’s worst violators of human rights and one of the greatest threats to world peace.

Not to mention a huge threat to Christians living within its borders.

Most believers, estimated to be over 450,000 (as per the Center for the Study of Global Christianity), are part of the underground church. Recently, a 50-year-old North Korean Christian, Son Jong Nam, was tortured to death in a prison as he was caught with 20 Bibles and 10 cassette tapes of hymns, reported Associated Press in July 2010.

According to the National Human Rights Commission of South Korea, North Korea runs six large prison camps for political prisoners. Together, they hold an estimated 200,000 inmates—one in every 100 people in the country is in jail, most likely facing death—and are used as a key tool to suppress potential dissidents and tame famine-hit people by spreading a sense of fear. It is believed that many of these inmates were imprisoned for their faith in or preaching Christianity.

So, will a succession affect change?

The report says that, above all, the North Korean regime wants to maintain its control over the country, which requires it to balance the external threat and meet economic needs at home. Christians are seen as a Western-influenced threat to the government. The future of Christians depends on the compulsions the new regime will face to hold its grip on power.

For the succession to take place successfully, says Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the US-based Heritage Foundation and former official from the US intelligence, there must be no opposition to the leadership of the Kim family. And, that is likely. But, it is possible that an inexperienced Kim Jong-un will be challenged by members of the party’s elite. Also, a collapse of the regime cannot be ruled out.

However, if everything goes as planned in the succession, there will be little change in the regime’s policy and persecution and repression will carry on.

Continue to pray for North Korea's leaders, that the Holy Spirit would bring them to repentance and belief. Pray for a watershed moment in God's timing that will bring thorough change, freedom and complete transformation to the land. Pray for fellow brothers and sisters, for their emotional, spiritual and physical well-being.

To read the full report, visit World Evangelical Alliance.

Christian human rights lawyer disappears again in China

According to a recent report from The New York Times, Gao Zhisheng has again gone missing. Gao, a Christian human rights lawyer, has faced detention and torture from authorities for defending the rights of oppressed people in China (click here to find out more).

At this time, please bring Gao to the Lord in prayer. Pray for his health and safety. Pray too for continued strength for Gao’s family. Pray that they will keep their eyes on Jesus, persevere in their faith, and not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 10:32-39; Hebrews 12:1-3).

Gao Zhisheng, a prominent human rights lawyer whose 13-month disappearance at the hands of Chinese security agents stirred an international outcry until he resurfaced in March, has again vanished, his friends said Friday.

Associates said Mr. Gao failed to return to a Beijing apartment on April 20 after spending more than a week in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region in western China, where he had been visiting his father-in-law. Mr. Gao telephoned his father-in-law as his plane left Urumqi, saying he would call upon his arrival in Beijing, they said.

That appeared to be his last contact with the outside world. Li Heping, another Beijing human rights lawyer and a close friend, said he had visited Mr. Gao’s apartment repeatedly, but had not found him. “No one had been there for a while,” said Mr. Li, who last went to the apartment on Thursday. “I have no idea who to call, or who has taken him.”

Others said they were sure that the government had again removed him from public view and that the authorities’ earlier decision to allow him to resurface briefly had been a ploy to try to demonstrate to the outside world that he had not been mistreated.

“Now we understand that the freedom was arranged by the authorities just for a show,” Jiang Tianyong, a Beijing lawyer and rights activist, said by telephone. “He is missing again; he is still under their control. We must continue to pay attention to his case.”

An official of Amnesty International said Friday that the organization was “seriously concerned” for Mr. Gao’s safety.

“It’s a matter of serious concern when he loses contact with his family and friends,” the organization’s deputy director for Asia and Pacific programs, Catherine Baber, said in a telephone interview from London.

Mr. Gao, whose outspoken approach has made him a contentious figure, is one of the nation’s best-known activists. He has also been a ceaseless gadfly to Chinese authorities.

In the early 2000s he earned international attention, and the government’s enmity, for his legal work on behalf of marginalized citizens, including members of underground Christian churches and practitioners of Falun Gong, the spiritual movement that Chinese authorities say is an antigovernment cabal.

After Mr. Gao sent letters to President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, accusing the government of persecuting Falun Gong members, he was stripped of his law license and sentenced to prison in late 2006 on charges of inciting subversion.

After being released, Mr. Gao said he had been tortured, adding that he had also been warned that discussing his torture publicly would result in his death.

China’s foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, denied those claims at a news conference in March. “There is no such thing as him being tortured,” he said.

Mr. Gao and his family were under constant surveillance and harassment after his release. Early last year his wife and two children escaped from China, eventually gaining asylum in the United States.

Mr. Gao disappeared shortly afterward. Despite pleas from the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, he was not seen again until he appeared in March at a Buddhist monastery in northern China.

In a telephone interview then with The New York Times, he said he had given up his work as a human rights defender and merely sought “to calm down and lead a quiet life.”

He refused to say whether he had suffered mistreatment while in captivity. In an April 7 interview with The Associated Press, he said simply, “I don’t have the capacity to persevere.”

But The South China Morning Post, based in Hong Kong, which first reported Mr. Gao’s disappearance on Friday, said in an article that he had been “quite outspoken” during an April 6 interview in his Beijing apartment, despite the near certainty that security agents were recording his conversation.

But the article said he had asked that details of his treatment by the authorities while in captivity not be made public. “If this is reported,” he was quoted as saying, “I’ll disappear again.”

Annual report on religious freedom in the world released

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recently announced its 2010 recommendations to Congress, the White House, and the State Department that 13 nations -- Burma, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam -- be named “countries of particular concern,” or CPCs.

“Over the past few months USCIRF has visited a number of human rights ‘hot spots’ where freedom of religion is obstructed and related human rights are trampled,” said Leonard Leo, USCIRF chair.

USCIRF’s 2010 Annual Report documents serious abuses of freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief around the world. The report provides policy prescriptions for each nation on the CPC list.

Further, USCIRF announced that the following countries are on the 2010 USCIRF Watch List: Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Venezuela.

While not rising to the statutory level set forth in IRFA requiring designation as a “country of particular concern,” watch list countries require close monitoring due to the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the governments.

To download the report, click here.

B&Bs and crucifixes: Religious discrimination in the UK?

Shirley Chaplin, a Christian nurse in Britain, recently lost a discrimination claim after fighting a policy that barred her from wearing her crucifix to work.

As reported by Catholic News Agency,

Shirley Chaplin, 54, was told by the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust Hospital last year that the crucifix she has worn for almost 40 years on the job without incident needed to be removed for “health and safety reasons.”

Chaplin refused to comply and consequently took the hospital to an Employment Tribunal which ruled on Tuesday that Chaplin is not facing discrimination, as it asserted that all employees are treated equally. Under the Trust's current uniform policy, however, one can wear a hijab for religious reasons but not a cross.

The NHS Trust argued that the crucifix and and chain could cause Chaplin or others harm if a patient caught hold of it, yet the nurse's offer to have a metal clasp inserted on her chain so it could easily be removed in such situations was rejected. The Trust suggested that the nurse wear cross earrings or “hide” the crucifix by pinning it on the inside of her uniform pocket.

Chaplin has worn the crucifix, a gift, since her confirmation in 1971. She intends to appeal Tribunal's ruling.

…

“What the Trust doesn’t realize,” the nurse continued, “as it seeks to enforce its uniform policy in the way it has, is that it sends out a very clear message to Christians working in the Trust or considering working for the Trust in the future that they will have to ‘hide’ their faith. The message is clear: Christians whose faith motivates their vocation and care of patients do not appear to be welcome at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust.”

“When employers or Government start to censor the conscience and convictions in this way it is a first step towards the demise of democracy,” she charged.

Andrea Williams, director of the Christian Legal Centre, which helped represent Chaplin, said on Tuesday that “The extent to which the Trust is prepared to stop Mrs. Chaplin manifesting her religious beliefs is remarkable. We hope that the Employment Appeal Tribunal will reverse today’s decision and allow Mrs Chaplin to wear her Cross visibly, in the same way that doctors and nurses of other religions can manifest their religious beliefs.”

[For other reports on this case, click here, here, or here.]

Other Christians in the UK are facing similar legal challenges. Christian Bed & Breakfast owners, Mike and Susanne Wilkinson, found themselves in the centre of controversy after they denied a homosexual couple a double bed.

The Guardian reports:

A gay couple were turned away from a bed and breakfast by its Christian owner who claimed it was against her convictions for two men to share a bed.

Michael Black and John Morgan from Brampton, Cambridgeshire, booked a double room at the B&B in Cookham, Berkshire, for Friday night.

When they arrived, Susanne Wilkinson and her husband Francis refused to allow them to stay. The owner said later that she had turned them away because it was against her policy to accommodate same sex couples. Black and Morgan claimed they were treated like lepers as a result of their sexuality. They reported the matter to Thames Valley police and have given a statement to police. Under the Equality Act 2006 it is illegal to discriminate against people on the grounds of sexual orientation.

…

"Mrs Wilkinson saw us both before we got out of the car and immediately acted in an unwelcoming, cold way, but my boyfriend and I were polite and friendly.

"She said if we'd told her in advance she would have told us not to come."

She apologised for turning them away and she returned their deposit and was in no way abusive, the couple said.

Black said: "We want to try to prevent other people from going there and suffering discrimination. Whatever her private views, that I can't change. Legally she can't discriminate.

An article from The Daily Mail added:

Mrs Wilkinson admitted she had made assumptions in expecting a man and a woman when she took a booking from a Mr Black. She said she invited the men in before explaining 'courteously' why she could not offer them the room.

She insisted she was not homophobic and would have offered two single rooms, but the guest house was fully booked.

Her husband Francis, a former City worker, said it was a question of living by their faith.

'We live according to our values and our Christian beliefs. We are not homophobic,' he said.

'Of course everybody has the freedom to live as they choose but we feel that in our own home we have every right to say no to something we don't agree with.'

Defending his wife, he said she would have explained the situation 'gently'. 'We are sorry for the distress that was caused to them,' he added.

…

Swiss-born Mrs Wilkinson, a former air hostess, said: 'People just take it for granted that their lifestyle will be accepted wherever they go.

'If they had gone to a hotel I think it would probably be different, but this is my house, we live here with our children - it's our home that's the difference.'

…

Mrs Wilkinson said: 'This is part of my faith and I don't want the Government to tell me what I can and cannot believe.'

[for more reports, click here, here or here.]

What do you think? Do you think Shirley Chaplin should be free to wear her crucifix to work? Should Mike and Susanne Wilkinson be allowed to deny a double bed to homosexual couples? Are these cases of religious discrimination? What do you think should be the relationship between one's personal beliefs and how one behaves in their profession?

A stand against censorship

In a decision heartily welcomed by many human rights advocates, Google has decided to stop censoring its search results in China. Read the article below for more information and, as always, we welcome your comments and opinions regarding this new development.

Google China: Search engine's stand against censorship welcomed by campaigners

Caroline Davies
guardian.co.uk, Monday 22 March 2010

Google's decision to stop censoring its search results in China was applauded by human rights and anti-censorship activists long critical of the internet giant's decision to accede to Beijing's demands.

The move threw down the gauntlet to other companies operating under strict Chinese conditions, they said.

Index on Censorship, which campaigns for freedom of expression, hailed it as "a pretty brave, principled move".

"Obviously, dealing with regimes like this is neither desirable for Google, nor profitable in the broader terms of dealing with censored material," said a spokesman. "It is not how the internet works." "Google have obviously looked at the long game and realised that they have to stick to their guns. And, hopefully, it will send a message to other regimes, and indeed other companies, that this kind of approach to the internet won't work.

"China is a very desirable market for anybody and Google has been growing there for the past couple of years, even though it is still well behind Baidu on usage. They could very easily have taken the short-term view and said 'we'll play the regime's game'. But they have decided not to and they should be congratulated on that."

Amnesty International, which has been vocal in its disappointment over Google's acquiescence to the Chinese government's demands, also welcomed the decision.

"Amnesty has consistently called on companies operating in China to stop collaborating with the Chinese authorities' censorship requirements, and to respect the right to freedom of expression for web users in China," said its UK director Kate Allen. "We have repeatedly urged Google and other companies to abide by their own stated principles and provide unbiased, accurate and free access to information .

"It's very welcome news that Google appears to be moving back towards these principles. This now lays down the gauntlet to other internet companies operating in China: to be transparent about what filtering and censorship the government requires them to do and to stand up for free speech where they can, using legal appeals and other judicial measures".

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent body which protects press freedom, hoped it could see a marked change in China's attitude towards the internet.

"We welcome this stand against censorship and hope that all internet companies operating in China take a similar principled position," said its deputy director Robert Mahoney. "Many of the web sites censored by the Chinese government are news and social networking websites, with a wide range of topics blocked from general discussion. Google's decision to stop censoring search results will put Google on the wrong side of the Great Firewall.

"In the long run, however, we hope that it ramps up pressure on the Chinese government to allow its citizens to access the news and information they need to be informed and engaged citizens."

The Washington-based Centre for Democracy and Technology, which campaigns for an open internet, said Google should be applauded for "following through on its commitment to protect human rights", and for "its continued effort to enable China's people with unfiltered access to robust sources of information, from all over the world".

The group's president, Leslie Harris, added: "Whether the Chinese people will be able to take advantage of Google search now rests squarely with the Chinese government. If China allows access to unfiltered search, it will be a substantial win for global internet freedom. If China blocks access, it will make clear who is pulling the levers of censorship in the country."

Consumer Watchdog, the Californian consumer, education and advocacy organisation agreed: "Google should be commended for its action. The internet giant should never have censored results in the first place, but the action is a strong move towards supporting freedom of speech on the internet," said consumer advocate John Simpson.

Vietnamese priest temporarily released from prison

Father Nguyen Van Ly (63), a Vietnamese believer who has spent more than 15 years in prison, has been temporarily released from detention on medical grounds. Father Van Ly suffered his third stroke in November 2009 and has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumour. His right leg and arm are partially paralyzed, making it difficult for him to eat or write. He was sent to a church-run home on March 15 for one year of medical treatment, after which he is expected to be returned to prison.

Father Van Ly, who refuses to accept the label of criminal pinned on him by authorities, has said of his temporary release: “I’m not satisfied with what they call the temporary suspension of my sentence because if I accept the term ‘temporary suspension,' it suggests that I accept the sentence they gave me. I don’t accept even a ‘permanent suspension’ because this also means I accept the sentence."

Father Van Ly has long been an outspoken opponent of the oppressive communist government in Vietnam. Since the 1970s he has campaigned for religious freedom, democracy, and freedom for the media.

First ordained in 1974, Father Van Ly was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in December 1983 for allegedly undermining national unity and causing public disorder. In 2001, he was sentenced to 15 years in jail for disseminating anti-government propaganda. He was released from prison in February 2005 but remained under house arrest in the Hue archbishop’s residence. He was arrested again on February 18, 2007, and sentenced to eight years in March of that year for anti-government activities after he reportedly helped organize a pro-democracy party.

(Sources: Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Union of Catholic Asian News, AsiaNews)

Discussion forum in Ottawa: Freedom of speech in China

Someone was kind enough to email us recently to let us know about a discussion forum being held in Ottawa this Friday. The event -- "Freedom of Speech in China: A Global Problem?" -- is organized by The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa and Amnesty International Canada and will explore key issues related to freedom of speech, including the targeting of human rights defenders in China who speak out, internet censorship and privacy and the role for Canada and the international community.

Speakers include: Maggie Wenzhou Hou, a professor at the University of Ottawa on Human Rights in China and a Chinese human rights activist; Greg Walton from Citizen Lab, who will explore the issue of internet freedom and China; and Alex Neve, Secretary-General of Amnesty International Canada, who will provide the international context and the need for action from Canada.

The event is on March 12 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at 1160 Desmarais Building, University of Ottawa, 55 Laurier Ave East. Cases of Chinese human rights defenders Gao Zhisheng, Liu Xiaobo and Zhou Li will be profiled.

You can download information here.

We would love to hear from anyone who is able to attend the event. Also, feel free to contact us if you hear of similar events, as we always appreciate people bringing such opportunities to our attention.

Hope in a hopeless nation

It's hard to imagine what life is like in North Korea. The stories and testimonies that come out of this restrictive nation are incredibly tragic and difficult to even comprehend. From famine to imprisonment to public executions, it is clear that the reality in North Korea is worlds apart from our environment in Canada.

With this backdrop in mind, it is amazing that North Korean Christians are able to respond to this harsh reality with love, grace, and even joy.

The March edition of The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter shares some of these stories of North Korean believers who have remained firm in their faith despite the trials they face. It is our prayer that these incredible stories of how God is working to bring hope to the most hopeless of situations will inspire and challenge you.

To give you an idea of reality of North Korea, watch the trailer of the movie Crossing below. This film is a featured resource you can purchase in the March newsletter, so be sure to sign up for your free copy today. You can check out other helpful resources to learn about North Korea here. 

Disclaimer: This film is not about a Christian family nor was it made by a Christian group. This movie is an honest portrayal of the horrors of life in North Korea. It is depressing, gritty, and contains a few situations where profanity is used.

Regular viewers and readers of VOM material will notice that this does not contain the stories of courageous victory and overcoming faith that they are used to seeing. These elements are missing from this story because Christ is missing from the story. The stories of North Korean Christians contained in the March newsletter do contain the faith and courage that is typical of persecuted Christians around the world.

As you can see from the trailer, the film is in Korean with English subtitles. The movie does include some profanity and while not bloody, it is very graphic and blunt. Parents are advised to review the film before allowing children of any age to watch.

Family of detained Chinese Christian refutes latest rumours

After reading a recent BBC report that Chinese Christian human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng was "alive and working in Urumqi, and there has been [in] contact with his family," I wondered how his wife and children would respond to this latest rumour. After all, it was only weeks ago that an official told Gao's brother that Gao had gone missing while "out for a walk!" As it turns out, Gao's wife, Geng He, has strongly refuted this latest information about her husband.

Gao was last seen in public in February 2009. Gao has been repeatedly kidnapped, arrested, imprisoned, and tortured by authorities for defending the persecuted. Gao was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008.

In their recent press release about these rumours, VOMC partner ChinaAid noted:

Around the same time, a Chinese informant then posted photos of Gao Zhisheng online in a Chinese report, claiming he worked in the same company as Gao Zhisheng. He said that Gao was a talkative, even funny man, who had allegedly become a successful operational manager, talking about his wife and family and even "whistling a happy tune" daily.

On February 14th, the story broke to western media, leading to speculation as to whether the reports were valid. One American legal expert Chinese government's disclosure a "step in the right direction," but has called the Chinese government's treatment of Gao's case highly irregular. Gao's wife, Geng He has denounced the claim as false, greatly frustrated by the lack of communication and deception. Neither she nor Gao's brother or sister have been able to contact him, much less acquire "useful information" about his whereabouts and condition.

ChinaAid President Bob Fu added, "With no evidence to suggest otherwise, this appears to be a ploy by the Chinese government to confuse people and cover up the truth. By telling reporters and advocacy organizations that Gao is in Xinjiang, it will keep them from hunting around Beijing for answers. The Chinese government is just playing games now."

Please pray for strength for this family during this difficult time. Pray that the truth about Gao's condition and whereabouts will be revealed.

You can also support this family by signing a petition calling for his release at http://www.freegao.com/. The site also provides addresses to write to leaders and encourage them to stand and support Gao.

For the complete press release from ChinaAid, please click here.