Yahoo!
News Home - Yahoo! - My Yahoo! - News Alerts - Help

Associated
Press

Click Here

 Home  |  Top Stories  |  Business  |  Tech  |  Politics  |  World  |  Local  |  Entertainment  |  Sports  |  Science  |  Health 

World Headlines
MyAdd to My Yahoo!

Monday March 13 6:56 AM ET

China Detains 16 Sect Members

BEIJING (AP) - Chinese police were holding 16 members of a Christian sect banned in a government crackdown on cults and were expected to send some of them to labor camps, a human rights group said Monday.

Police burst in on the followers of the China Evangelistic Fellowship as they met March 2 in a group member's home in Xinyang, a city in the central province of Henan, the Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said.

Police detained the sect members, confiscated their Bibles and seized money and belongings from Hao Huaiping, whose home was used for the meeting, the Information Center said.

Among those detained was Jiang Qinggang, the leader of an underground church who has done two stints in labor camps, the latest sentence ending last month, the group said.

Jiang and Hao likely face labor camp sentences, the group said, adding that four other China Evangelistic Fellowship leaders were sent to work camps in December.

A government religious affairs official in Xinyang said she was unaware of the reported March 2 detentions. But the official, who identified herself as Mrs. Yang, said the China Evangelistic Fellowship is a cult, that the group was not legally registered and that its activities had not been officially approved.

She also claimed that the group endangered social stability and said it was ``one of the targets that needs to be attacked.''

The government has stepped up efforts to crush groups it regards as cults in the wake of a crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

Although Falun Gong is an offshoot of more traditional health practices, Christian groups operating outside state control have also been targeted. Henan province, a center for evangelical Christian groups, has drawn particular scrutiny.

Another group targeted, Zhong Gong, appealed Sunday to the ongoing annual session of the Chinese legislature for the release of people detained since the government began moving against the group in October.

Like Falun Gong, Zhong Gong is an offshoot of qigong, a regimen of breathing and meditation exercises practiced daily by millions of Chinese, who believe they promote health and peace of mind.

Founded in 1988 by Zhong Hongbao, Zhong Gong had as many as 38 million members at its peak in 1992, the Information Center said.

E-mail this story  |  Printer-friendly format


Full Coverage
See a Yahoo! special report on
China
Related News Stories
· China Eases Rules on Encryption Software - Reuters (Mar 13, 2000)
· Prominent Chinese Muslim Secretly Sentenced to 8 Years - NY Times (registration req'd) (Mar 11, 2000)
· China calls on Hong Kong to adopt anti-subversion laws - AFP (Mar 11, 2000)
· China tackles adultery - BBC (Mar 11, 2000)
· China's Civil War 'Widows' Have Haunting Tale to Tell - Los Angeles Times (Mar 11, 2000)
More In Full Coverage
Related Web Sites
· China Today - information on government, art and entertainment, trade, finance, education, and more.
· China: Moving slowly onto centre stage - interactive map of China's history under communism, RealAudio interviews with Tiananmen dissidents, news, analysis, and more. From Out There News.
· China Internet Information Center - get news and read Chinese government white papers, including ones on human rights, Tibet, and arms controls and disarmament.
· China: 10 Years After Tiananmen - interviews on Tiananmen Square with Chinese democracy activists. From Human Rights Watch.
· China: The Awkward Superpower - analysis and news from Time.com.
More In Full Coverage
Opinion & Editorials
· Great Leap Backward - NY Times (registration req'd) (Feb 28, 2000)
· China’s effort to stifle religion could backfire - Abilene Reporter-News (Feb 23, 2000)
· Big Brother May Crush China's Web Dreams - Business Week (Feb 7, 2000)
Magazine Articles
· Palace Intrigues - Newsweek (Mar 7, 2000)
· Face Up to Political Reform - Asiaweek (Mar 3, 2000)
· China Dot Now - CNN (Feb 28, 2000)
Audio
· 800-thousand year-old stone tools discovered in southern China - NPR (Mar 3, 2000)
· "Nanking remains a controversial subject" - BBC (Jan 23, 2000)
· Chinese city corruption includes high-level officials - NPR (Jan 22, 2000)
More In Full Coverage
Video
· Thousands of Falun Gong have been arrested - BBC (Oct 30, 1999)
· Tensions mount between Chinese authorities and Falun Gong - CNN (Oct 29, 1999)
· China arrests defiant Falun Gong members - CNN (Oct 29, 1999)
Message Boards
· Zhaodaola Internet
Related Full Coverage
· China - Taiwan Relations
· China Economy
· China-US Relations
· Hong Kong News
· Macau Handover
Yahoo! Categories
· China
· Chinese Government
· Falun Gong
More In Full Coverage


Advanced
Search:  Stories   Photos   Full Coverage

Mar 12 | Mar 11 | Mar 10 | Mar 09 | Mar 08 | Mar 07 | Mar 06 | Mar 05 | Mar 04 | Mar 03

 Home  |  Top Stories  |  Business  |  Tech  |  Politics  |  World  |  Local  |  Entertainment  |  Sports  |  Science  |  Health 


Questions or Comments
Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.