A Christian pastor imprisoned by the Chinese government fears if he is not transferred to another detention facility he will die in custody.
Pastor Gong Shengliang, the leader of the South China Church, had a brief 10-minute visit with relatives this week in Hongshan Prison, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, reported Voice of the Martyrs, which monitors Christian persecution worldwide.
"If you are able in any way, please transfer me to another prison," Gong begged his three sisters during the visit Monday. "Otherwise, just come and pick up my corpse."
VOM says Gong had to be carried into the visiting hall at the prison by four other inmates because he could not walk. When one of the sisters pressed a guard for an explanation of Gong's injuries, the guard said the pastor fell while he was washing windows in the prison. According to the guard, Gong was washing the inside of the windows, yet somehow fell outside the building.
When Gong was asked about the injury, he first looked at the guard and then said reluctantly, "Yes, I fell," reported VOM in a statement.
Gong also was asked why he had stopped writing letters from prison.
The pastor said, "I don't have the strength to write. When I pick up my pen, there are lots of troubles."
Officials described Gong as a model prisoner in every respect except one: He refuses to denounce his faith in Jesus Christ, and he will not stop praying and preaching.
"He is so into the Bible that he has lost touch with reality," Gong's sisters were told.
Said Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for VOM: "The man in charge of the prison says this is a model prisoner, yet he has already spent 411 days with his arms and legs chained. Without God's help, this innocent man is not likely to survive many more weeks in Hongshan Prison."
VOM provided an address that can be used to write to Gong in prison:
Gong Shengliang
Prison Section Four Te Yi Hao
Hongshan Prison, Miaoshan Development Zone
Jiangxia District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province
People's Republic of China 430223
As WorldNetDaily reported, another church leader imprisoned in China was recently crippled by a severe beating because he had led 50 fellow inmates to the Christian faith.
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