Additional Name(s): Su Zhimin, 苏志民

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: China

Religion or Belief: Christian – Catholic

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Date of Detainment: October/8/1997

Current Status: Unknown

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Disappeared

Reason for Persecution: Pilgrimage Religious Activity Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role

Nature of Charges: Not Applicable

James Su Zhimin

Extra Bio Info:

James Su Zhimin was forcibly disappeared for his religious leadership role and activity. 

In March 1996, Su, an unregistered bishop in Baoding, Hebei Province, was arrested as he led a procession of Catholics to a shrine near the village of Donglu in Hebei. 

A month later, Su reportedly escaped custody and went into hiding.

On October 8, 1997, Su was recaptured and subjected to an enforced disappearance. 

On November 15, 2003, Su was sighted at a hospital in Baoding, where he had undergone an eye operation and treatment for a heart ailment.  He subsequently disappeared again.

On July 30, 2020, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing on Su's case.

Su is a part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.

Prior to his most recent disappearance, Su Zhimin had spent around 26 years either in prison or forced labor camps.  Since the 1950s, he has refused to join the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), which does not recognize the Pope's authority. 

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