Imprisoned Chinese Church Leader Freed
"The love of the Lord and the prayers by the saints sustained my life in the prison."
(Beijing, China)—China Aid Association (CAA) has revealed that jailed Beijing house church leader Cai Zhuohua was released from prison on September 10, 2007. (Beijing Time)
According to Cai's mother, to whom CAA has talked, Pastor Cai arrived at his home at 1pm. She said that he "looked well" and was in "good spirits" although he was not allowed to have or read a Bible during the past three years.
"In his prison, Cai was forced to make soccer [balls] 10 to 12 hours a day for the 2008 Beijing Olympics," said a CAA spokesperson.
Pastor Cai asked CAA to thank all the brothers and sisters who have been praying and helping him and his family members during his imprisonment time. "The love of the Lord and the prayers by the saints sustained my life in the prison," he said.
Cai was arrested September 11, 2004 at a bus stop, where he was dragged into a van by state security officers. Authorities were shocked to find more than 200,000 pieces of printed Christian literature including Bibles in a storage room managed by Cai. In China, only the Chinese government sanctioned church (The Three-Self Patriotic Movement) is allowed to print and distribute Bibles.
"Since Pastor Cai has already served an unjustified three years sentence, to continue to restrict his freedom of movement is a violation of Chinese law," said Bob Fu, President of CAA and a former co-worker of Pastor Cai. "We urge the international community to continue to press the worsening situation on religious freedom and human rights in China."
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