From the Associated Press:
Three members of an imprisoned pastor’s family have sneaked out of China to the U.S. with the help of activists after complaining about an extended campaign of harassment by Chinese authorities, a Christian rights group said Tuesday.
Zhang Shaojie’s daughter, son-in-law and 1-year-old grandchild landed in Dallas, Texas, on Monday, according to U.S.-based China Aid. The group said an underground network of activists helped the three leave China via Southeast Asia.
Zhang, who led the Nanle County Christian Church in the central province of Henan, was sentenced this month to 12 years in prison on charges of fraud and gathering crowds to disturb public order.
Zhang’s church is sanctioned by the communist government, which allows worship only in state-monitored groups, but was involved in a dispute with local authorities over land for a new building.
While land disputes are common in China, Zhang’s popularity prompted other Christians to rally around him to defend what they say is religious freedom.
China Aid founder Bob Fu said that after Zhang was sentenced, his elderly parents received threats and were harassed, his daughter’s car was kept by police and Nanle officials mobilized different government agencies to write to the court to ask for a longer sentence.
It’s a brief and sobering reminder of the rarity of so many of our freedoms in much of the rest of the world.
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