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Religious Liberty Award to Bob FuFebruary 06, 2008
Washington D.C.: Westminster Ph.D. student and President of the China Aid Association, Xiqui Bob Fu, received the 2007 John Leland Religious Liberty Award from the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) in a ceremony held in the Members of Congress Room of the Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress on February 7, 2008. This honor was bestowed upon Xiqui Bob Fu “for courageously defending the right of all people to exercise freely their religious faith." Established in 2002, the China Aid Association (CAA) is a non-profit Christian organization. Its mission is to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. The CAA does this by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China. He then introduced Congressman Trent Franks (R, Arizona), Co-chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus Task Force for International Religious Freedom, co-host of the event, who made brief remarks highlighting Bob Fu’s activities on behalf of religious liberty. President Land then read the citation with great enthusiasm and presented the award to Fu, who read a prepared acceptance speech. Accompanying Bob was his wife Heidi and their daughter Melissa. The Rev. Laurence Sibley, M.Div '59 and Lecturer in Practical Theology, joined them representing Westminster. He found it especially fitting since Heidi used to be part of an English language conversation group that his wife, Lois, hosted in their home in the late 90's. Heidi used to attend with their first two children Daniel and Tracy. Also on February 7th, the CAA released its Annual Persecution Report for 2007. According to the report, 2007 was an important year in China due to the upcoming Beijing Olympics of 2008, which has attracted the attention of the world well ahead of time. LS |
