A Brief Discussion of China's Religious Policy

-- introducing an article in Christianity Today

By Outsider

In March of this year, Christianity Today published an article[1] on Mainland China's systematic persecution of religious believers. The article cites materials collected by Li Shi-xiong, a New York dissident, and the Committee for Investigation of Religious Persecution in China founded by him. These materials include large numbers of Chinese court records, the testimony of individual witnesses, internal government documents and photographs.

The article reports that since 1999 and because of Fa Lun-gong the Chinese government has been intensifying its persecution of "cults". According to documents from the Public Security Bureau, the definition of a cult is very loose. It can mean superstitious acts, religious extremes, religious leaders or public disorder. Of the seven cults that are explicitly named by the Chinese Central Committee, three are linked to Christianity: the Shouters, the Born-again Church and the Church of the New Covenant.

Li's materials include detailed testimonies by 5000 victims of persecution, 17000 incomplete testimonies and 117 incidents of death in prison. These testimonies demonstrate that the government, in addition to persecuting unregistered churches, is also very sensitive to inter-communication between unregistered churches. Furthermore, the government has little tolerance of messages concerning the end of the world or miraculous healings.

Mr. Li maintains that the arrests and persecution of Christian believers are not limited to provincial level, they are sanctioned by Central government. President Jiang Ze-min once said, "It is necessary to understand religion in order to understand today's world. We must not under-estimate the impact of religion on the political and social realities of today's world." Jiang also said, "Religion is often linked to international disputes and conflicts..." And "we must strongly defend ourselves against the infiltration of foreign forces through religion."[2]

Overseas commentators have pointed out that Li's article is unprecedented in the wealth and detail of the material it contains. His data-gathering has been rigid and systematic and therefore his article has been popular among researchers into China affairs. In the course of his visits to and investigation of these Christian witnesses, Li also abandoned his own atheistic standpoint and accepted the Christian faith.

As China enters the WTO, social criticism and dissemination of information will become more open throughout China, and the Chinese people will enjoy increased levels of respect and trust. This is a natural consequence of entering an international community. Therefore, the government will need to be re-evaluating its Christians as a hardworking and loving human resource and a driving force in the improvement of the quality of Chinese society.

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