"Two shovel loaders tore at the building foundations, while the mob, with bricks and other blunt instruments in hand, beat Fushan church members who were sleeping at the church construction site," it stated. "Within the hour, more than ten church members lay bleeding heavily; some were severely injured and sent to the emergency room. Several people lost consciousness and were subsequently hospitalized."
The local emergency room was instructed by anonymous authorities to withhold treatment and prohibit blood transfusions for the injured church members. On Sunday night, two seriously injured patients had to be transferred with oxygen cylinders to a hospital in Linfin area. The power, water and telephone signals to 'Good News Cloth shoes Factory' were cut off, with guards monitoring all the supply lines running to the factory, the report said.
CAA said, Chinese government officials and police were identified among the wild crowd of attackers. At the onset, Gao Xuezhong, the secretary of Zhangzhuang town, reportedly shouted, "Strike everything; we will pay for it!" The Vice County Executive Duan Yumin was also seen perpetuating the crackdown. According to witnesses, "He dashed around madly on the shovel loaders, pushed over the enclosure wall, and tore down the temporary working-houses, restrooms and the factory."
The vandals smashed the windows, doors, kitchen utensils, refrigerators and motorcycles. Leaving destruction in their wake, they looted the television and other appliances, and stole church members' money, cell phones, clothes, books, and even the factory's business license. The unprecedented and unwarranted attack was devastating, with church members calling the scene "worse than the Wenchuan earthquake," CAA stated.
Witnesses told CAA that the attack lasted for several hours, with the offenders sneaking away just before dawn. After the demolition and looting, officials deliberately disposed of the evidence, and cleaned up some of the mess to hide their involvement, it stated.
CAA said, at noon on the same day, thousands of church members gathered at the site in grief; they were shocked by the state of the building and the rubble left behind. Filled with indignation, the church members prayed to God for justice for the innocent victims of the attack. They asked factory coworkers and community members to visit and pray for them.
ChinaAid President Bob Fu is in a state of shock. He said, "We are totally shocked to hear of this bloody crackdown against innocent Christian believers by the Fushan county officials," said Mr. Fu.
"We urge the Chinese government to hold those abusive officials accountable and take concrete actions to guarantee the Fushan citizens' religious freedom."
ChinaAid is calling upon the international community to voice their protests against the brutal treatment of Christians to the Chinese government, and to pray for justice and healing for the victims of the attack.
Protest can be lodged using the following contact details:
Contact number of offices in Fushan County (supervised by) Linfin City:
Mayor's Office of Linfin City: +86-357-209-1044
Public Security Bureau of Linfin City: +86-357-218-8317
Office of the Fushan County Administrator: +86-357-813-6099
Public Security Bureau of Fushan County: +86-357-812-6199
English speakers in the U.S. can contact Mr. Zhou Wenzhong, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. in Washington D.C at Tel: (202) 495-2000 and Fax: (202) 588-9760. Chinese Embassy Press Secretary Baodong - Tel: 202-495-2218
For Chinese embassies in other countries the numbers can be found at www.fmprc.gov.cn
ChinaAid also further ask Christians to "pray for the souls of the participants in the crime, that they will be internally convicted of their inhumane treatment of others and disregard for basic human life."