News Archive China 16 nuns beaten who tried to save a school from demolition ROME, DEC. 14, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Public security authorities in Xian, China, have opened an investigation into the beating of 16 nuns who tried to save a school from demolition. Officials have arrested 11 suspects. Meanwhile, one of the nuns, who risks permanent paralysis as a result of the assault, is recovering from surgery, AsiaNews reported. The government has offered to pay for all medical expenses. On Nov. 23, about 40 assailants beat 16 Franciscan missionary nuns who tried to stand in the way of the destruction of the diocese's School of the Rosary. As a result of the attack, Sister Dong Jianian, 41, suffered a fraction to her spinal column. She is recovering from a three-hour operation. Another nun, Sister Cheng Jing, 34, was blinded in one eye. Three other nuns were hospitalized, including Sister Zan Hongfang, 34, who was discharged from the hospital with her broken shoulder in a plaster cast. Initially, government officials had done everything to cover up the incident, AsiaNews said. The police responded late to the sisters' call for help, and news of the attack was censored from newspapers and Web sites. Pressure The incident, however, garnered international attention. The U.S. bishops' conference even wrote a critical letter to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. Thanks to this and to the spread of news locally -- by word-of-mouth, text messaging and e-mail -- government authorities decided to take action by opening an investigation and detaining 11 of the assailants, AsiaNews said. According to initial reports, the group of assailants had been enlisted by the Zhaoshen Investment Company, the firm that had bought the school property from government officials and wanted to settle the matter through violence. Before the attack against the nuns, some of the assailants said they had been "sent by the government education district," according to AsiaNews. The school, which the Church already owned, had been confiscated during the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976. The building had been empty for several years and the government, in breach of Chinese law, sold it to a construction company rather than returning it to its rightful owners. ZE05121405 China Releases Priest Under House Arrest Since '99 HONG KONG, JULY 6, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Chinese authorities have released an ailing 34-year-old priest who spent nearly six years under house arrest. Father Vincent Kong Guocun is a member of the "underground" Church which recognizes the Pope's authority but is not officially approved by Beijing. News of his release, verified June 8, was reported by Eglises d'Asie, an agency of the Foreign Missions of Paris, and echoed by Vatican Radio. Father Kong, of the Wenzhou Diocese in the Zhejiang province, was arrested Oct. 20, 1999, shortly after the second anniversary of his priestly ordination. According to Chinese Catholic sources, the priest's health has deteriorated and he was released for medical reasons. During the early days of his detention, Father Kong was isolated from outside contact. Only later, his parents were allowed to pay him occasional visits, said the sources. Government officials alleged that Father Kong was "too stubborn" and not cooperative, the sources added. His detention is the second longest among the Wenzhou clergy. "Underground" Bishop James Lin Xili, 84, is still confined to the cathedral of the official Wenzhou community, and has not enjoyed freedom of movement since September 1999. According to AsiaNews, there are 18 bishops and 20 priests in detention by authorities. ZE05070608 Chinese Bishop Arrested for 6th Time Since Early '04 Julius Jia Zhi Guo Taken Away to Unknown Location ZHENG DING, China, JULY 5, 2005 (Zenit.org).- For the sixth time in a year and a half, Bishop Julius Jia Zhi Guo of the underground Catholic Church was arrested by government officials, says a U.S.-based watchdog group. Bishop Jia was arrested at his house in the Diocese of Zheng Ding, in Hebei province, on Monday afternoon and driven away to an unknown location, according to the Connecticut-based Cardinal Kung Foundation. Government officials telephoned Bishop Jia in advance, notifying him that he was being picked up and ordering him to tell the people that he was being taken away to visit a physician. The bishop is not sick at present, and has no need of medical care, the Kung Foundation said. Bishop Jia, 71, was previously in prison for some two decades and has been under strict surveillance for many years. As "non-official" bishop of Zheng Ding, he has headed one of the liveliest dioceses of Hebei, the province with the largest concentration of Catholics, numbering some 1.5 million. This is the sixth time that Bishop Jia has been arrested since January 2004. The first time was on April 5, 2004, when a car with four government security policemen suddenly appeared at his residence and took him away with no explanations. Immediately after the arrest, which lasted until April 14, Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro Valls described the detention as inadmissible in a state of law, since no juridical reasons were given. The underground Church in China, which professes loyalty to Rome, does not have Beijing's approval. ZE05070501 back to index of Chinese articles