On 24 August 2008, the closing day of the Beijing Olympic Games, public security officers and government officials took Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo from his residence after he celebrated Sunday Mass that morning.

Some local Catholics told UCA News that Bishop Jia was taken away after a journalist working for foreign media had made an appointment with a parish lay leader of his diocese.  They speculated that public security officers might worry about the reporter visiting and interviewing the underground Church leader.

The bishop was later released on 18 September 2008.  According to a press release from the U.S.-based Cardinal Kung Foundation, security officers escorted Bishop Jia to his residence at 1 p.m. on 18 September 2008.  However, he remained under 24-hour police surveillance and was isolated from his priests and faithful, not allowed to receive any visitors.

In 2000, Hotline Asia issued UA000306(3) to urge the Chinese government to respect religious freedom and release Bishop Jia Zhiguo immediately.


Sources:
AsiaNews
UCANews

While foreigners in the “Olympic village” enjoy full religious freedom during the Beijing Olympics Games, both the official and underground church in China are under strict surveillance.

Before the Olympics, all the bishops and priests from the official church have received a letter and were recommended not to organize special gatherings and celebrations during the Olympic Games.  If such events had already been programmed, then participation had to be limited to 200 people.

The situation of the underground Church is worse.  Many underground bishops and priests are under house arrest.  In Tianjin, the faithful are “invited” not to host any underground priests or they may face heavy fines.  Other priests have been “advised” by police to go for holidays.  The faithful have been threatened against holding any form of gathering during the period, otherwise “there will be consequences after the Olympics”.  In many regions, the communities which usually hold catechism courses for the youth in the summer have been forced to cancel their plans.

In Heibei, Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding (Hebei) is under 24 hour surveillance.  Police have set up a hut in front of the prelate’s house where, in alternating shifts, they can keep him under constant surveillance, banning him to meet anyone.

In response to the on-going situation, Hotline Asia issued UA000306(3) in 2000 to call for the Chinese government to respect religious freedom and release Bishop Jia Zhiguo immediately.


Sources:
AsiaNews

After almost 4 months of detention, Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding (Hebei) was released on 14 December 2007 from his latest detention by the authorities.

However, in an article dated 18 December 2007, a local Catholic also cited a government official saying that Bishop Jia would again be detained after a few days because he needs to undergo a "learning session," but the official did not specify if that would be before or after Christmas.

In 2000, Hotline Asia issued UA000306(3) to urge the Chinese government to respect religious freedom and release Bishop Jia Zhiguo immediately.

Sources:
AsiaNews

Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding was taken away on 23 August, just 2 months after his last detention. Another report in September said that Bishop Jia Zhiguo was in dangerous health condition due to the lack of proper treatment. It was also reported that “suppression of the underground Catholic power” was one of the important agenda for the Heibei province in the preparation for the 17th Communist Party Congress in October 2007.

On 22 October 2007, in the wake of the death of Bishop John Han Dingxiang in September, the Hong Kong Justice and Peace Commission of Hong Kong Catholic Diocese expressed concern for other bishops currently imprisoned. HKJP specifically named 3 aging underground Chinese bishops, including Bishop Jia Zhiguo.

In 2000, Hotline Asia urged the Chinese authorities to release Bishop Jia Zhiguo immediately.

Sources:
Hua Xia Bao
Human Rights in China
Zenit News

Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo was released in September from his eighth detention in 2 years. Bishop was seized by government agencies on 8 November 2005. It was reported that during his detention, he was interrogated and pressured to adhere to the Communist-Party-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association, which rejects Vatican authority over issues such as the naming of bishops.

In 2000, Hotline Asia urged the Chinese authority to immediately release of Bishop Jia, whose case was one of the 5 cases highlighted by the Justice and Peace Commission of Hong Kong Catholic Diocese in demanding the authorities’ respect for freedom of religion.

Source:
South China Morning Post

Since the introduction of the Regulation on Religious Affairs law in March 2005, provincial and local governments have begun crackdowns on underground churches across China. The vaguely worded new rules call for local governments to “standardize” the management of religion nationwide. With each province and locality carrying out the repression, the pattern is a constant stream of incidents.

According to Mickey Spiegel, a China specialist at Human Rights Watch, “there is an attempt to convince young people that being involved in religion will make things more complicated for them in school and in other ways.”

Hotline Asia issued UA000306(3) demanding the right to freedom of religion as provided under the Chinese Constitution.

Source:
South China Morning Post

The Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese (HKJP) has issued a book on the Catholic Church in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). Through testimonies, documents, statistics and excerpts of the constitution and laws such as the Criminal Law Article 251 and General principles of the Civil law Article 77, the book presents the challenges which the Church in PRC face.

The HKJP calls for continuous solidarity through a recent signature campaign, to request the government to release innocent priests and lay Catholics; and to cease the interruption to religious activities.
Letters can be addressed to:

1. Mr. Hu Jintao,
   President of China,
   General Office of the CCP Central Committee,
   Fuyou Street, Xicheng District,
   Beijing 100017,
   People's Republic of China
2. Send copies to the diplomatic representative of PRC in your country.

To support the petition campaign of the Justice and Peace Commission of Hong Kong, Hotline Asia issued UA000306(3) in 2000 asking for the release of two Catholic Bishops and three human rights activists in the country. It also highlighted the demand for the right to freedom of religion as provided under Chinese Constitution.

Source:
Justice & Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese