Reverend Dennis Balcombe, leader of the Revival Christian Church group recently detained in China, speaks to Marc Lavine of his four-day ordeal under house arrest for allegedly breaking new laws restricting foreigners from religious activities.
AS the Chinese revelled in the festivities of the Lunar New Year, a group of Christians discovered that the mainland authorities were far from the good spirit of the most important of Chinese festivals.
American-born Reverend Dennis Balcombe, 48, and six missionaries were seized when about 70 Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers swooped on a private home in Tongzhuang village, Henan province. Reverend Balcombe said he feared for the future: ''We really didn't know what was going to happen to us. We were treated worse than animals.'' The raid took place in the early hours of February 11 as worshippers were sleeping after attending a Christian meeting in a ''house church''.
The seven were then subjected to four days of interrogation with little food or rest, before finally being freed following an appeal by Amnesty International. No charges were brought against them. They are believed to be the first Christians detained in China under new legislation restricting foreigners from religious activities in the country.
The group, three Americans, two Hong Kong residents and two Indonesians, were held under house arrest in a freezing and deserted hotel while police repeatedly questioned them over their activities in the area. The seven huddled together in one room with barred windows and were not even allowed to exercise in the corridor outside. They were spied on constantly in their makeshift prison - even when using the toilet. They had no access to hot water and had to use filthy lavatories.
Their money, cameras, personal stereos, videos, and a computer - valued at more than $120,000 - were confiscated, and the authorities did not inform the US embassy in Beijing of their detention.
