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Bush in Beijing Church: What Freedom?

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Bush in Beijing Church: What Freedom?

By jidian

 

When Bush attended the Sunday service at the Gangwasi (Gang Wa Si) Church on Nov. 20, it seemed to be big news.  The Chinese media were saying that Bush’s visit showed to the world that the accusation of some westerners that China is a country that lacks religious freedom is totally nonsense.  The western and overseas Chinese media, however, believed that Bush might have done it for the purpose of gently reminding the Chinese government that China needs more religious freedom.

 

What the Chinese media conveniently ignored is the fact that Bush did say “My hope is that the government of China will not fear Christians who gather to worship openly”.  The Washington Post believed that Bush was there and did that “to send a message about free expression of faith in a country that harshly smothers it”.  Bush’s aides said that “[t]he president has been offended by the recent harassment of religious people trying to practice their faith without state approval at underground churches”.   The freedom of faith may be taken for granted for people in the U. S. and in Europe, but it is still a very  “sensitive” topic in China (so we can forget about seeing it on the official media) and “religious freedom” or “freedom of faith” is often among those “filtered” words on China’s Internet.

 

For those who may not be familiar with “special situations” in China, there are two kinds of churches in China.  Gangwasi is one of those state-sponsored, government-(and Party)-sanctioned “three-self” churches.  But most Protestant and Catholic Christians in China do not worship in those churches.  They worship and fellowship in semi-underground “house churches”.   It is estimated (by a Korean organization) that China has 90~100 million Christians today.  But the official number is only 16 million, probably because the official statistics only counts those attending the “three-self” churches.  If one only looks at the photos of smiling foreign guests at Gangwasi Church and the worship service there on the Sunday Bush was there, one would not get a typical or accurate picture about religious freedom in China.   (Sure, there has been improvement, especially when compared to 30 years ago, and even Bush might have been impressed.  But we cannot always resort to comparison with what it was like 30 years ago.)  Not to mention the behind door “control” over and the “political correctness” of the “three-self” churches.  

 

Being a Chinese Christian who has visited house churches in China in recent years myself (although I am now living in the U. S.), I know as a fact that the picture for the house churches is much less bright.  The Beijing-based Christian leader Cai, Zhuohua was recently sentenced to 3 years for printing the Bible and giving it out to house church Christians.  One lawyer (Zhang, Xingshui) defending him was “advised” to leave Beijing during the “sensitive” time of Bush’s visit and another (Gao Zhisheng) had his car chased by many cars and threatened verbally.  On Nov. 18, Zhang, Mingxuan, a house church leader from Henan Province was immediately “taken away” just like Cai was last year on his way to Beijing.  Some believe that this was done to stop him from meeting Bush.  In the countryside where most Chinese Christians are, the picture may be even grimmer than in the big cities.   Those Chinese Christians in the countryside may not be able to watch Bush’s visit to the Beijing church on TV (since, I heard, CCTV did not report it).  But even if the are, it means nothing to them except for another political show.   

 

I know many Chinese, including Christians, do not even like George W.  And I know many Chinese Christians would not think of Bush as a representative of Christianity at all.  But I do not worry about Bush.  What I am most concerned is, aside from the political shows like the episode at the Gangwasi Church, what and how much real progress we are getting in China for real religious freedom.  

【作者: 基甸】【访问统计:】【2005年11月23日 星期三 11:00】【注册】【打印】