BEIJING — Unidentified men burst into the Beijing home of Christian Hua Huiqi and his wife, Ju Mei, beating the family and robbing their home Jan. 5. Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) reports that 10 attackers forced all members of the household, including Hua’s elderly parents, to lie on the floor. They savagely beat the family, breaking one of the legs of Hua’s 80-year-old father. Before leaving, they confiscated all of the home’s portable heaters, leaving the family to suffer from the cold of winter. Christian sources in China told VOM that the intruders were either sent by police or could even have been plainclothes policemen.
When Hua went to the police Jan. 6 to request the return of the heaters, he was detained for several hours and was beaten again. He returned home empty-handed. The family was forced to endure below freezing temperatures.
The attack could have been a response to a peaceful protest the family participated in during the early hours of Jan. 4. They and other members of their neighborhood had objected to the cutting off of the electricity and water to their homes by Chinese authorities when an attempt to obtain the names of various house church members from Hua failed.
VOM sources also suspect local authorities were retaliating against Hua after they learned that he had been responsible for collecting approximately 10,000 pieces of used clothing for distribution among poor Christians in rural areas outside Beijing.
Share with others: