2004 - Jiang Zongxiu

June 18, 2004

Tongzi, Guizhou

Jiang Zongxiu. [China Aid]

Jiang Zongxiu was born in 1970 and was a resident of Qijiang County in Chongqing Municipality. In June 2004 she travelled to Tongzi County in the northern part of neighbouring Guizhou Province. While there on June 17th, she went to the marketplace at Pusdu Town with her mother-in-law, Tan Dewei. Both women had been active in house church work for more than a decade. They distributed Bibles and gospel tracts to some of the stall owners and shoppers at the market. Some were appreciative, while others reported her activities to the authorities. For almost two centuries the Chinese church has benefited from the ministry of ‘Bible women’–female evangelists who share the Word of God with other women. The Public Security Bureau dispatched officers to the market and arrested the Christian pair. They were handcuffed together and taken to the local detention centre for questioning. Jiang and Tan were interrogated throughout the night of June 17th and the following morning.

Jiang and her mother-in-law were sentenced to 15 days imprisonment. The official police report listed the charge as “seriously disturbing the social order by distributing Christian literature to the masses in the market.”[1] Before they got the chance to commence their sentence, however, PSB officers beat and kicked Jiang Zongxiu to death at around 2 p.m. on June 18, 2004.

The official reason for her death was given, ludicrously, as a “sudden disease.” The authorities, no doubt afraid of the ramifications of murdering someone on such a minor charge, ordered Jiang’s family to cremate the body immediately, and even sent an invoice demanding 100 Yuan (about US$12) per day for the preservation of the body at the funeral home. Jiang’s husband, Zhang Zhonghua, refused, and arranged for a full autopsy to be carried out to determine the cause of death.

The relatives of the martyred woman were deeply angered by the incident and publicized it widely. Even China’s Legal Daily, a publication edited by the Chinese Department of Justice, reported the story, questioning the Tongzi County officials’ claim that Jiang had died of natural causes.

Jiang Zongxiu’s husband and four-year-old son grieving at her tomb. [China Aid]

Tan Dewei was released from prison on June 23rd. She later testified,

“It was very early in the morning of June 18th. They took our fingerprints and brought us to our cells. I protested that this was illegal, but it did not matter. A few days later, I remembered seeing a person’s feet lying on a bed across from my cell. Officers came in to take pictures. At the time I did not know what it was about. I asked an officer what had happened, but he told me it was not my concern. I had asked to see my daughter-in-law, but they told me she was resting. When I inquired again, I was told she was very sick, in serious condition. I kept asking to see her, but they just cursed me. Then they released me, forcing me on to the train back to my village. I only learned of Jiang’s death after I arrived home. Now I know what they were taking pictures of at the detention centre and why they wanted me to leave before the end of my 15-day sentence.”[2]

Numerous people signed affidavits stating that Jiang Zongxiu was a strong and healthy young woman with no medical problems. Even a policeman present at the autopsy said, “She doesn’t need an autopsy, because it is very obvious that she was beaten to death.”[3] Jiang’s sister-in-law secretly took photos of the battered and bruised corpse during the autopsy. Much of her hair had been pulled out of her head. Relatives who were “able to see Jiang’s body in the funeral home all claim that they saw much blood on her body and scars from beatings on her legs and her neck.”[4] The publication of the photographs, as well as a video of family members outlining what had happened, caused great embarrassment and anger among the authorities, who threatened the family with retribution if they continued their campaign for justice.

Jiang Zongxiu had touched many lives for Jesus Christ. She also left behind a loving husband and a four-year-old son, Zhang Jun, who couldn’t understand what had happened and frequently asked for his mummy. Jiang’s Christian’s sister-in-law asked, “We are just ordinary Christians. All of our family is illiterate. We just want justice. They killed my sister just because she was caught sharing her faith. Why did she have to die? Why does her four-year-old son have to grow up without a mother?”[5]

1. Bob Fu, “Martyred in China,” The Voice of the Martyrs (March 2005), 6.
2. China Aid Association, “Call for Justice,” transcript of a video with Jiang’s relatives. www.chinaaid.org
3. Bob Fu, “Martyred in China,” The Voice of the Martyrs (March 2005), 6.
4. Fu, “Martyred in China,” 6.
5. China Aid Association, “Call for Justice,” at www.chinaaid.org