Lawyers record meeting with North Carolina pastor held in China

John Cao (Photo: ChinaAid)

Posted at ChinaAid:

(Pu’er, Yunnan—July 16, 2018) The lawyers of an imprisoned American resident and pastor conducted a rare meeting with him earlier this month, describing to him the details of his case and conveying his messages to the outside world.

Lawyer Li Guisheng, attorney for North Carolina minister John Cao, described his trip with fellow human rights lawyer Yang Hui in the anecdote included below. Yang also penned a document to Pu'er authorities, the translation of which is forthcoming

Cao, referred in the document below as his Chinese name, Cao Sanqiang, was taken into police custody in March 2017 after he and his colleague, Jing Ruxia, crossed the border from Myanmar into China. Authorities charged him with “organizing illegal border crossings” and sentenced him to seven years in prison. Due to his ministry building schools for impoverished children in Myanmar’s Wa State, however, Cao frequently traveled over the Myanmar-China border in much the same way and without previous incident. As a result, it is likely that authorities targeted Cao for his faith rather than an actual crime.

In response, ChinaAid will be launching a White House petition to free Cao on Aug. 2. In order to get an official response, we need to collect 100,000 signatures in just 31 days.

ChinaAid exposes the abuses Cao has suffered at the hands of the Chinese government and advocates for his freedom in order to stand against unjust persecution and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law.

Read more here.