What's happening to Christians in China?

Christian Century, Sept 24, 1997 by Ann Martin, Myrrl Byler

When the registration laws were first announced in 1994, many Western groups saw them as a new crackdown on the church. There were reports of arrests and harassment of group refusing to register. While the CCC admits that there have been problems and abuses, it has chosen to put a much more positive face on the new regulations, about which its leaders had been consulted. The CCC pointed out that the new regulations were not a departure from prior policies, and they heralded them as positive step in the development of China's legal system since, for the first time, churches would have legal recourse should local officials make wrongful demands. Registered meetings points could have a legal status which would protect them.

The picture of what has happened these past few years as churches and meeting points have been asked to register is varied. CCC leaders often say that implementation of the new regulations has been very uneven. The finger of blame is most often pointed at local religious affairs officials who are poorly educated or ignorant about religion. Meeting points, particularly rural ones, have complained about large registration fees, the need to pay bribes in order to register, and the consolidation of meeting points, which makes worship difficult. Appeals and complaints by Christians can meet with reprisals and accusations of disloyalty.

In the past few years the CCC has reported on various places where churches and house groups have successfully challenged local government officials in court. The CCC would gain great credibility were it to compile and publish details of all such grievances brought to its attention, what actions it took in response, and whether or not the incident was satisfactorily resolved. This is not likely to happen. The CCC does not want to be identified with Western criticisms of China and does not believe that religious believers will benefit if matters of church-state relations are internationalized. Bishop Ting, commenting on the recent release of a report by the U.S. State Department on religious freedom for Christians abroad, said: "I strongly feel that any U.S. government intervention as `protector of religion' in the name of religious liberty would only jeopardize what we have been doing ourselves and intend to continue to do, and would give us the unenviable image of collaborating with the U.S. government."

Such sentiments are especially strong given that Beijing and Washington are at odds on issues ranging from the Spratly Islands to Taiwan and Tibet, trade deficits, international copyright laws and human rights. In such a climate the CCC is likely to support the government position on sensitive foreign-policy issues. In the past year the CCC has spoken out in favor of renewed MFN trading status for China an in support of Beijing's positions on Tibet and Taiwan. One year ago, a CCC delegation walked out on a church conference in Thailand because of the status given to delegates from Taiwan.

The fact that the CCC makes such statements or takes such actions may strike those accustomed to sharper church-state divisions as strange or disturbing. What they reflect, however, is the clear understanding these leaders have of their government's attitude toward religion. The Chinese government views the practice of Christianity and other religious as permissible, not desirable. Since the Chinese Communist Party is concerned about any challenge to its power, the best hope for greater religious freedom in China is to encourage the delineation of careful boundaries for such activities and then work patiently to enlarge those boundaries. The pace at which overall progress can be made depends upon how strong the Chinese government perceives internal and external threats to its control to be. Beijing's response to U.S. charges of religious persecution is likely to be the opposite of the one the lobbying groups hope for.