An imprisoned Christian woman in China facing five years in jail recently wrote a sad but ultimately hope-filled poem recounting last year which she spent in police custodyin the southern Guizhou province.
Zhang Xiuhong, who was the chair of Huoshi Church's Board of Deacons, penned a poem which recalls what she could not experience during 2016 because of her imprisonment, the charity China Aid has revealed.
Zhang was seized by local authorities on July 28, 2015 for 'illegal business operations' involving a transaction from which she did not benefit, according to her lawyers Xiao Yunyang and Li Guisheng. The lawyers were not allowed to plead guilty on her behalf.
Her trial commenced on 23 January, and the Nanming District Court sentenced her to five years in prison on 10 February. She appealed her sentence on 17 February, arguing that she was deemed responsible for embezzling 5 million Yuan ($725,374.00).
Zhang was accused of collaborating on this crime with an associate, Pan Lina Pan, who received a sentence of only three years with a four-year probation. Zhang concluded that she was targetted because of her religious beliefs.
Zhang's poem can be read in full below.
This year
I didn't hear the sweet voice of my baby,
I didn't embrace the wanderer come back from afar,
I didn't see my loved one's thin and weak figure,
I didn't have heart-to-heart talks with my sister,
I didn't taste the delicious food prepared by my mother-in-law,
I didn't bask in the rays of the morning sunlight,
Or take a stroll as the sun sets.
Or ride on a high-speed train to go somewhere.
This year, the sound I often heard,
Was the slam of metal doors, sharp and piercing,
This year, the sight I often saw was hopeless eyes,
This year, the food I had every day was the unchanging "three dishes and a soup,"
This year, the farthest I went was less than 1,000 meters [approximately 3,281 feet] away,
This year, I received a staggering fine,
This year, I saw the judge of my case twice, not at the court, but where I'm being detained.
Was this a tough year for me? Painful? Lonely? Living each day like a year? Absolutely not!
This year, I was never in a dark place while waiting; the sun above the clouds shined upon me and nourished me;
This year, I was never homesick;
This year, I enjoyed the bounty of grace because my trust in the Lord who called me brought me unspeakable glory and joy;
This year, the world drifted farther away from me;
This year, my Lord drew ever closer to me;
This year, I received the fruits of the Lord's Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control;
This year, I bathed in His love;
This year, my soul broke free from the metal bars of prison and soared in the Kingdom of God;
This year, I lived in hope and divine promises....
Your sister in Christ,
Zhang Xiuhong
