Pékin2008

In China, freedom of association does not exist.

Jia Zhiguo, 73 years old, spent about twenty years in detention before being appointed as Catholic bishop of Zhending in Hebei province (surrounding Beijing). He lives in a small village near Shijiazhuang and for years now, with the help of nuns, he has been managing an orphanage for mentally handicapped children, which he set up on his own compound.

Though a leader of the "underground" Church" (only the government-controlled Christian community is recognised as "official") Jia has registered his personnel and his diocesan structures according to Government regulations. However, he persistently refuses to join and collaborate with the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA) run by the Party, whose aim is to build up a national self-reliant Catholic Church. Jia is a pioneer of Catholic Church unity in China and works both with "official" and "underground" clergy. His behaviour infuriates the Religious Affairs Bureau which has used all means to try to make him yield and join the Patriotic Association.

Since January 2004, Jia has been arrested twelve times.
In custody, he is regularly subjected to political indoctrination (brain washing). When at home, he is practically always under tight surveillance and is not allowed to go out. In June 2006, during a visit to Jingzhou Hospital for postoperative care, public security officers took him away for a new indoctrination session. He was released three months later feeling very weak.
His last arrest was on 23 August 2007 and he was released mid-December 2007. Government officials warned him that he would be detained again very soon. Meanwhile, they are harassing the orphanage personnel threatening to put an end to its activities.

The China 2008 Olympics Collective calls on the authorities to put an end to the harassment and repeated arbitrary detentions of Jia Zhiguo.