INTERNATIONAL
Christian Bookstore
Owner in
China Still
Without Trial
'Model
citizen'
in Beijing illegally
detained for three
months.
By Jeff M. Sellers
LOS
ANGELES,
A
hearing expected
yesterday by relatives
of Christian
bookstore owner Shi
Weihan, detained in a
Chinese prison without
charges, did not take
place.
Sources in China had
said that a court date
was expected as
yesterday marked the end
of three months of his
detention without
charges. Public Security
Bureau (PSB) forces are
prohibited from holding
Chinese citizens for
more than two months
without formal charges.
Police initially
arrested Shi on November
28, 2007, charging him
with “illegal business
practices,” but
officials ordered his
release on January 4,
citing insufficient
evidence. Shi was
arrested again on March
19 and police have held
him virtually
incommunicado, denying
all but one visit from
his lawyer, and refusing
family visits.
Shi’s store, located
near the Olympic
Village, operated
legally and sold only
books for which he had
obtained government
permission. Under his
Holy Spirit Trading Co.,
Shi printed Bibles and
Christian literature
without authorization
for distribution to
local house churches,
according to Asia Times
Online.
“Despite having held Shi
beyond the time legally
allowed, absent formal
charges or a court
hearing, the PSB still
refuses to allow his
family or attorney to
see him,” said a source
close to Shi’s lawyer.
“Claiming an ongoing
investigation in what
they are calling ‘a
complex case,’ they have
managed to hold the
owner of a legally
registered Christian
bookstore in an
undisclosed location
without giving any
assurances that he is
receiving his needed
diabetic medicine.”
The PSB has stated that
it will delay action on
the case indefinitely,
raising questions
about Shi’s health and
safety.
His attorney, Zhang
Xingshui, has been
allowed to visit Shi
only once, noting that
he was losing weight and
showed signs of a
possible “allergic
reaction.” At the same
time, without a proper
diet and medication,
diabetics can exhibit
symptoms including
fatigue, weight loss,
poor wound healing and
dry and itchy skin that
could be misinterpreted
as an allergic reaction.
The 37-year-old travel
agent and bookstore
owner was released in
January for lack of
sufficient evidence on
suspicion of “illegal
business practices.”
After his re-arrest two
months later, he has
been denied formal
charges, fair access to
representation,
appropriate medical care
and the legally
guaranteed family
visits.
Many of Shi’s friends,
acquaintances and
business clients are
beginning to question
the PSB’s motives in
this action, according
to the source close to
his attorney.
“Were Shi to suffer dire
health consequences or
drop into diabetic coma,
which can result in
death without proper
emergency treatment, it
could leave the
appearance that the PSB
may have intended this
very result,” he said.
Shi was last seen in the
custody of the Beijing
City Public Security
Bureau after having been
transferred from the
Haidian District Police
Station.
The source said
documentation offered by
the PSB to justify a
right to hold Shi seems
to have been tampered
with. A copy of an
arrest warrant issued to
the Haidian District
Sub-station giving it
permission to re-arrest
Shi was doctored and
changed to look as
though the Beijing City
PSB was the authorized
arresting authority, he
said.
Originally, the Beijing
PSB denied having Shi.
Officials claimed they
did not know his
whereabouts, the source
said. After Shi’s
attorney applied
pressure, officials
finally admitted having
him and allowed the
single visit with his
attorney.
Since then, they have
refused to discuss his
whereabouts or condition
with either the family
or the attorney.
In the hopes that Shi
will some day be granted
a trial, numerous
friends and business
acquaintances have
described him as a model
citizen of China. They
say he has inspired them
to love China by his
patriotism and love for
his homeland, and that
he is known for
his selfless sacrifice
on behalf of poor and
disenfranchised rural
Christians and minority
children.
“Foreign business
acquaintances and travel
agency clients of
Shi’s find it ironic
that this patriotic
travel agent, active in
promoting travel for
the Olympics, would be
arrested in his offices
near the Olympic Village
in Beijing and held
without
explanation until this
late hour just weeks
prior to the beginning
of the Olympic Games,”
the source said.
Provided by
Compass Direct News
