Eddie Romero: Hands himself in: the press release.
I have Just received this press release from Hacienda Christian Fellowship regarding the latest situation of Pastor E. Perez Romero. Please pray for Eddie and his family.
The Previous Events
On Tuesday August 5th in bedrooms in two Beijing hotels, Pastor E. Perez Romero of Hacienda Christian Fellowship, La Puente California, carried out two acts of protest to draw the attention of the world to the plight of the faith communities in the Peoples Republic of China.
Having carried out those events he left Beijing and hid himself for the duration of the Olympic Games in a forest outside Beijing, further details of which, including photos, will be made available.
Today
Earlier today, at approximately 8.00pm Beijing time, 5.00am LA time, in the precincts of Tiananmen Square, Pastor Romero met with waiting media to reiterate the goals of the project. At 10.15pm Beijing time he sought to draw attention to himself in the square and be arrested, and was eventually escorted by the police, we believe, to the Conference Hall at the north west corner of Tiananmen Square where he dialogued with the crowd for over an hour and a half, and then appeared to be taken away by the authorities in a car.
In Tiananmen Square he has again repeatedly asked the Government of the Peoples Republic of China to ratify the United Nation’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and to release five named prisoners who have been unjustly imprisoned for their stand on human rights, as a start towards releasing more.
The Future
As soon as these requests have been agreed, he will pay the clean-up bills for the work in the two hotel rooms. In the meantime Pastor Romero expects to remain in the custody of the Chinese authorities.
We are considering providing legal representation for Pastor Romero, and if these become operational we will make the details available. The purpose of such representation is not to diminish the potential penalties against him, but to better discover any violations of due process and reveal possible injustices in the Chinese legal system.
The Past Two Weeks
Following his acts of protest on the 5th August, as we have indicated above, Pastor Romeo left Beijing and has lived, throughout the duration of the Games, out in the open, entirely on his own, surviving by means of food and drink he bought in Beijing and took with him, living in a small shelter. Because of the heavy rain that occurred while he was there, this did, on occasion, turn into an act of endurance. No doubt he will share more in the future, the detailed nature of this time.
Throughout the duration of this Project, Pastor Romero has been communicating home via Twitter.com, both publicly and privately. Similarly he has been receiving messages of encouragement by similar means. We are unable to give the details of those communications sent privately because of their personal nature, and Pastor Romero requests the understanding of the media in accepting that he desires to maintain the anonymity of those involved.
As usual you can follow the project by going here: Blog
This just makes him look even more crazy than before. 1. He vandilizes a hotel room? 2. Then he hides in the forrest for weeks? He shouldn’t get a lawyer he should get a shrink.
Hey in some way i think i agree. So often in the last few years, as i have been aware that he is doing something, i have asked myself the question “brave or mad?” Whatever you think he feels so passionately that he needs to raise his voice for those that cannot. SO much that he is willing to get himself arrested in china to highlight even further what is going on.
Interestingly if he had handed himself in at the beginning of the games i think he would have been deported straight away. Now though at the end of the games the chinese government are taking a harder line o those protesting.
Eddie is keen to not just make a statement and walk away but to show the whole system for what it is.