Chinese House Church Leader Abducted, Beaten by Government Agents

ICC Note: Despite working hard to convince the West that religious freedom exists for all of it’s citizens, the Chinese government continues to allow and even promote heavy restrictions and occasional persecution of Christians and other religious minorities on a regular basis. Last week a house church pastor in Linfen, Shanxi, China, reported he was abducted by government agents, beaten, threatened with death, and dumped in a cornfield for his work as a house church leader. The pastors family was also threatened. ICC strongly condemns such attacks and calls upon the government in Beijing to immediately restrain authorities in Shanxi Province.  
8/19/2013 China (ChinaAid) – China Aid has learned that Li Shuangping, leader of Linfen house church, was abducted and beaten by agents of the local government on the night of Aug. 13.
Li reported that he was driving home when a young man pretending to be intoxicated staggered into the path of his car, forcing Li to stop. Simultaneously, a black sedan drove up near Li’s vehicle. Three men exited the black sedan and, along with the man pretending to be intoxicated, grabbed Li’s hand, yanking him from his vehicle. Li was then forced into the black sedan where he was blindfolded and restrained with rope.
According to Li, while one of the men drove, the other three held him down in the backseat while they punched and kicked his head, neck and torso. Li said that as the beating occurred, one of the men verbally threatened Li, asking him how he would like to die as a result of leading a house church. Li reported that the man threated violent deaths ranging from being thrown into a river to drinking sulfuric acid. The man also threated to kidnap and kill Li’s family including his children.
Li reported that over the course of the ride, the car departed the main roads of the city for bumpy dirt roads. When the car stopped, Li was thrown in a cornfield.
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