China publicizes purported confession of Christian lawyer
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Version 0 of 1. BEIJING — A Chinese media report says a detained Christian human rights lawyer has confessed to breaking the law by disturbing social order, endangering state security and engaging in unprofessional behavior. The report Thursday by a semiofficial news website in the eastern city of Wenzhou accuses Zhang Kai of numerous instances of stirring up trouble, although it didn’t appear that he has been formally charged. Zhang was detained in August, the day before he was due to meet U.S. religious freedom envoy David Saperstein. He had been providing legal counsel for churches in Wenzhou and the surrounding province of Zhejiang in their resistance to a government order to remove hundreds of crosses from church buildings. The order has sparked protests and been criticized as unconstitutional and infringing upon religious freedom. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |