After the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1949, the CCP launched a massive crackdown on religions and banned the Taoist sects, burning a large number of Bibles and other scriptures in order to fully implement its “atheistic” ideology. The CCP requires members of organizations and gangs such as Christianity, Catholicism, Taoism, and Buddhism to register with the government and repent; if they fail to do so, they will be severely punished if identified.
In addition, the Communist Party has set up institutions to strengthen its leadership over religion, with Catholicism being the focus of repression because of its extensive international ties. In the case of Catholicism, the CCP established a body appointed by it: the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, with the aim of controlling and reforming Catholics. This move was resisted by the priests, represented by Father Gong Pinmei.
Gong Pinmei, who refused to join the “Patriotic Association”, was sentenced to life imprisonment
His Eminence Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei, also known as Gong Tianjue, was born on August 2, 1901 in Jiangsu Province to a Catholic family. In 1949, he was appointed Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Suzhou, and the following year, he became the first national bishop of the Diocese of Shanghai, Suzhou and Nanjing.
In response to the attempts of the Chinese Communist Party, Father Gong Pinmei not only resolutely refused to “reform” and “infiltrate” the Church, but also refused to launch an “anti-imperialist patriotic movement” within the Church, and allowed the faithful to continue to accept the Vatican He said, “I can’t help it. He said, “I can’t accept what they say about evolution, it’s an insult to God.”
To this end, Gong Pinmei organized and personally supervised the Chinese Legion of Mary, which “would not surrender, would not give in, and would not sell out”, prevented members of the Legion of Mary from registering with the government and withdrawing from the Legion, and refused to join the official church, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
On September 8, 1955, Gong Pinmei was arrested and imprisoned in Shanghai, along with more than 30 priests and religious, including Fan Zhongliang and Jin Luxian. It was alleged that “incriminating evidence” such as telegraphs and pistols were found in the bishop’s residence of St. Joseph’s Church in Yangjingbang, South Sichuan Road, followed by an exhibition of “incriminating evidence” organized by the Chinese Communist Party, which was visited by the faithful and followed by a “denunciation The Chinese Communist Party then held an exhibition of “incriminating evidence”, organized visits by the faithful, and then held a “denunciation” conference.
In March 1960, Gong was sentenced to life imprisonment and deprived of political rights for life as the “chief criminal” of the Gong Pinmei counter-revolutionary group, and was imprisoned in Tilanqiao Prison. During the “trial,” Father Gong Pinmei told the arraigners, “I will never betray my faith. …….”
In July 1985, after an international rescue effort, Father Gong was released on parole, but placed under house arrest by the Patriotic Association, and in January 1988, under international pressure, the Chinese government announced his early release and restored his freedom.
While in the U.S., Gong established a foundation in his name and has been calling on the Chinese authorities to grant greater religious freedom to the people. He was also named a cardinal by the Pope in 1991, and died in the United States on March 12, 2000, at the age of 98. His will requested that his body be reburied in his hometown of Shanghai when China is no longer under the Communist Party.
Fan Zhongliang sentenced to 20 years
Fan Zhongliang, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Shanghai, who was arrested with Gong Pinmei, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and sent to Qinghai to work in a cemetery in Qinghai province carrying bodies. After completing his sentence, he was left at the Qinghai Labor Reform Farm. In fact, he was imprisoned for up to 30 years in succession.
Born in Meilong Town, Jiangsu Province in January 1918, Fan was baptized at the age of 14, entered the Jesuits at the age of 20, and was promoted to the priesthood at the age of 33. In 1985, he was secretly named assistant bishop by the then Roman Catholic Pope Paul II, which meant that once Gong Pinmei passed away, Fan became the bishop of the Shanghai diocese.
After Gong’s death in 2000, the Holy See appointed Fan Zhongliang to take over as bishop of Shanghai, but not only was this appointment not recognized by the Beijing government, but Fan was placed under house arrest and surveillance by the Chinese Communist Party for a long time afterwards, until his death in 2014.
Other priests sentenced to prison
In addition to Gong Pinmei and Fan Zhongliang’s sentences, several other priests were sentenced to prison terms after 1953. According to the Shanghai Public Security Journal and the Luwan District Journal of May 2011, the specific sentences were as follows.
Chen Zhemin, professor and doctor of philosophy at the University of Rome Mission, and Chinese secretary to the Apostolic Nuncio to China. arrested on September 6, 1951. sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1960. died on August 26, 1961, at Baihu Farm, Lujiang County, Anhui Province.
Father Zhu Shude, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was arrested again in November 1981 and died on December 28, 1983 in Hefei City Prison, Anhui Province.
Fr. Zhang Xibin, sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment, released in 1978, re-arrested in November 1981, detained in Shanghai Detention Center No. 1, then placed under house arrest in the Shanghai Diocese due to illness, died in 1990.
He was arrested in November 1981 for organizing a pilgrimage to Sheshan in Shanghai and was arrested as a leading member of the “Zhu Hong Sheng counter-revolutionary group.” He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in March 1983 and released in 1987.
Jin Luxian, director of the Xujiahui Daishonin. He spent 18 years in prison and 9 years in labor camps. He worked as a translator in the North and was released in 1982.
Fr. Fu Hezhou, sentenced to 15 years, served his sentence at Baihu Farm in Anhui Province, and was re-arrested in November 1981 after his release.
Fr. Cai Shifang, sentenced to 12 years, continued to be sentenced to reeducation through labor after completing his sentence, and was arrested for the third time in November 1981 and sentenced to 10 years.
Father Zhu Xuefan, sentenced to 10 years, served his sentence in Madang, Jiangxi Province, and later died in Shangrao Labor Camp.
There were also priests such as Liu Jize, Yan Yunliang, Wu Yingfeng, Shen Baishun, Lu Dayuan, and Fu Yutang, all of whom were sentenced to varying terms and some died in prison or on labor camps.
Conclusion
What happened to Gong Pinmei, Fan Zhongliang and the priests listed demonstrates the devastation the CCP inflicts on people of faith. Information shows that more than 5,000 Chinese bishops and priests who remained on the mainland were either imprisoned or killed, with only a few hundred remaining, while those foreign priests who were in China were partially killed and then all expelled from the country. In addition, before 1957 alone, more than 11,000 Catholics were killed and a large number of religious were arbitrarily arrested or fined extortionately.
And this is by no means all of the persecution of religion by the Chinese Communist Party; Christians, Buddhists, and Taoists have all suffered the same fate.
2017-03-05
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