China Arrests U.S. Aid Worker Peter Hahn Because He Is Christian

A Korean American Christian aid worker was arrested in China on Friday. Peter Hahn, 74, was detained near the North Korean border which, according to MSN, reveals how the Chinese are cracking down on “Christian activists in the sensitive region.”

Politico reports that Hahn’s lawyer, Zhang Peihong from Shanghai was notified by prosecutors of Hahn’s arrest. The charges brought against Hahn consist of embezzlement and possession of fake invoices, as reported by Politico.

Although Hahn’s lawyer is quick to say, he believes Hahn was arrested because of his Christian faith as well as the fact that he ran a non-governmental organization.

“The charges leveled against him are just excuses.”

Peter Hahn ran a vocational school for Chinese and Korean youth, and has been doing so for more than ten years. Hahn has also provided food for North Korean children.

The school building, which is in the town of Tumen, was used as a “mission base camp for our missionaries,” explains Peter Hahn’s wife, Eunice per NBC News. Hahn has been under investigation for months, along with his colleagues comprised of two U.S. nationals and three South Koreans.

NBC News reports that China has been diligent in its attempt to cease the outbreak of North Koreans who illegally enter China in order to escape the persecution and poverty in their own country. The North Koreans then proceed to flee to other nations, mainly South Korea.

Zhang and Eunice both reveal that Hahn had helped North Korean defectors at one point in time, but adamantly state that Hahn hasn’t done so in over a decade.

According to MSN, in August Christian missionaries were forced out of China by the hundreds. Most of those Christians had their visas refused in an effort to stop the Christian efforts in their country.

During that same month, China detained a Canadian Christian couple, Kevin and Julia Garratt, who lived in Dandong. The couple ran a coffee shop in this Chinese town which borders North Korea. They had been under investigation of the Chinese who suspected the Garratt’s were stealing military and intelligence secret information. There is no word on their current status, as per Politico.

While China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the charges against Hahn in a statement stating that Hahn had only been criminally detained, Zhang was informed by law enforcement authorities that Hahn had officially been arrested and charged, making the matter much more serious. Zhang is not very hopeful about the outcome for Hahn.

“I am not optimistic about the case’s prospects now that he has been arrested. The charges clearly have no merit.”

Eunice Hahn is thankful that the police are allowing her husband to see a doctor on a regular basis. His health is not great at this time as he suffers from diabetes and had two strokes earlier this year.

MSN reports that Eunice Hahn had written her husband a letter that contained Christian messages for encouragement and had asked a U.S. diplomat to deliver it. However, Hahn has not been allowed to read it.

[Photo Credit: MSN.com]