Persecution of Chinese Christians: Real, or Imagined?

Are Chinese Christians being persecuted? The answer rather depends upon whom you ask.

The average American, and especially American evangelicals, will respond, “Of course! Haven’t you read The Heavenly Man? What about all those newspaper stories? We all know that Chinese believers can’t get Bibles, and that they are hounded constantly by the police. Their meetings are disrupted; their preachers are on the run; and common Christians daily face threats, fines, destruction of church buildings, jail, and even death.”

On the other hand, if you ask foreign church leaders, especially those from “mainline” churches, they will say, “There is religious freedom in China. The constitution provides for it, and the state allows free and open worship without let or hindrance.” They have visited Three Self-Patriotic Movement (TSPM) churches, or those belonging to the Catholic Patriotic Association, and have been impressed by the size of the crowds, availability of Bibles, and friendliness of clergy.

Likewise, leaders of these “official” churches either deny or downplay the suggestions that law-abiding believers might have to suffer for their faith. They themselves may have studied at one of the TSPM seminaries; they serve with the full permission of the government; and they are generally left alone. They know that some people calling themselves Christians have run into trouble with the police, but they claim that these are cultists, not orthodox believers, and that only violators of the law need fear any interference in their religious activities.(1)

The Official Church

Like almost everything else in China, the real situation of Christians in China is hard to describe in general terms. Let’s try to unravel this tangled ball of conflicting statements.

The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China does guarantee freedom of religious belief. China officially recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Daoism (Taoism), Islam, Protestant Christianity, and Roman Catholicism. Its official regulations (there is no comprehensive law governing religious activity) provide for associations recognized by the government for each of these religions. Adherents may attend worship services led by approved religious functionaries and, within limits, both hold to and express their beliefs.

For Protestants, who comprise the vast majority of those calling themselves “Christian,” there is the above-mentioned Three Self-Patriotic Movement (TSPM), founded soon after the Communists consolidated power in the early 1950s. “Three Self” refers to its principles of self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating. Translated into ordinary language, it means that the TSPM is free from foreign control.

The “Patriotic” part highlights the early days of the Movement, when it was used to enlist popular Christian support for the war against the American-led United Nations forces in Korea, especially after China sent a large number of “volunteers” into the fray. Additionally, and no less importantly, the TSPM exists to support the Communist government and its goal of creating a socialist state. Any Protestant church leader who does not join the TSPM will be suspected of being anti-government – in other words, a traitor to the nation.

All places were closed down in the terrible days of the Great Cultural Revolution (officially dated 1966-1976), but in 1979, under the opening and reform program of Deng Xiaoping, TSPM churches were gradually restored to religious use. Thousands of them now dot the landscape of China, and they are filled with eager worshipers and “seekers.” There is a seminary in Nanjing, and more than a dozen TSPM Bible schools educate pastors and church workers, and there are many more lower-level training centers..

You can buy a Bible and other Christian literature at a TSPM church, as long as you register your name and address. By and large, those who attend such churches enjoy freedom to do so, and they are not usually persecuted for their faith at work, though they may suffer discrimination.

What about unregistered congregations, the so-called “house churches” of which we hear so often? Aren’t they regularly harassed by the police?

Well, again the answer depends partly on whom you ask, and when.

Unregistered Congregations

There are many thousand unregistered congregations which meet openly, with the full knowledge of the Public Security Bureau, and most of them are left alone most of the time. Especially in the cities, where more and more educated people are seeking meaning in Christianity, these churches may contain very well-connected people whom it would be awkward for the authorities to bother. Some of their leaders might even still be members of the Communist Party. Relying on their connections with officials in the government and the academy, many of these groups function with impunity.

Some, to be sure, constantly test the limits of their freedom, pushing the envelope to see just how far they can go. When their numbers increase, the Public Security Bureau (PSB) will politely ask them to split into smaller groups. If they persist in holding meetings with more than twenty people, they may be warned. One congregation, for example, combined its home gatherings into very public worship services for two hundred people or so on Saturdays and Sundays.

All house churches were instructed to register with the government in 2004. After some internal debate, many agreed to do so, and submitted all the necessary papers, including information on membership, leaders, meeting places and times, and finances. A few months later, many (perhaps most) applications were declined. The reason: They did not belong to the TSPM.

Since you must belong to a legal association to register, and since the TSPM is the only authorized association, it is technically illegal to register as a congregation – or group of congregations – without joining the official church (though some groups – mainly the Little Flock - have apparently been allowed to do so in some places). Tspm umbrella…

Now, fully cognizant of what these churches are doing at all times, the PSB may send lower-level functionaries to “visit” the pastor every week or so. Every courtesy is observed, and much tea is imbibed in a friendly atmosphere, while the pastor is subjected to the same lecture on government religious policy, and asked the same questions, time after time-wasting time.

Some congregations find that the venue in which they meet becomes unavailable when the landlord says there are problems with the electricity, or plumbing, or something else – perhaps on orders from the PSB. Other groups have recently had to cancel Christmas evangelistic meetings, held in the past in large hotel or restaurants, ostensibly for some technical or scheduling difficulty. This typically happens at the last minute, making re-scheduling impossible. The PSB is clearly behind such obstruction.

Is this persecution? Or merely harassment?

Perhaps it’s best to use the language of international covenants which the People’s Republic of China has signed, including one in 1981 calling for “Non-discrimination on the basis of religion and belief” and “Freedom of manifestation of belief.”

The real issue in China is that there are many types of discrimination which can be merely harassment but which restrict the church and the people in general from having access to information that they could have real freedom of belief, and practicing their belief, whatever it might be.

Thus, regardless of whether we call what Chinese Christians sometimes encounter “persecution” or “harassment” or even merely “discrimination,” it is clear that China does not conform to the international norms which it has formally bound itself to observe.

Urban Leaders Targeted

In the past, police would break into church meetings, round up both leaders and ordinary believers, and take them to the police station for questioning. Sometimes fines were imposed; occasionally, a few believers were thrown into jail. Beatings were rare, but not unknown.

During 2006 – 2007, however, the pattern changed. Now the government waits until large groups of house church leaders gather for retreats, usually in a secluded location, before swooping down to catch them all at once. Obviously, the PSB knows who the shepherds are, and is able to track them down to secret places for one large haul. The pastors, elders, and evangelists are then held for a few days, while more information is collected on them and, if possible, their churches. Then they are released with stern warnings.

Christian Literature crackdown

In large cities, you can find private, non-TSPM Christian bookstores with all sorts of Bibles, books, tracts, and decorative items. Under certain circumstances, Christian literature can be published in China, and many works published overseas are available as well.

On the other hand, those who deal in high volume may encounter a sharp response. In 2007, two Chinese booksellers were detained. One was arrested and jailed for a while, and the other was released after his case became widely known. Their crime seems to have been both printing Christian books and distributing them widely.

“Radioactive” foreigners

Remember how the “Three-self” principle refers primarily to lack of foreign control? Originally meant by missionary strategists to foster the maturity and independence of Chinese churches, this slogan now allows the communist Party to regulate the association of non-Chinese with Christians in China.

For good historical reasons (see “Chinese Christians and the Government”), China’s rulers fear the potential political power of organized religion. They watched while one Communist government after another fell in Eastern Europe, while Christians carried candles in support of regime change in the 1980s. In the next decade, they saw the “color revolutions” topple Communist power in countries closer to Russia itself. They know that the United States has lent its backing to these movements, formally or informally, and they fear lest history repeat itself in China.

Most observers think that the Chinese government is really worried about what might happen at the Summer Olympics. If Muslim separatists from Xinjiang, or their supporters, foreign Christians or civil rights advocates in Beijing during the games make engage in even a peaceful demonstration – not to mention violence – that could ruin the image that the Chinese communists are so obsessed with presenting. They desperately want to prove to the outside world and to their own citizens that China deserves to be treated like a modern, world-class nation. They will brook no obstacles to that goal.

Chinese regulations prohibit foreigners from teaching or otherwise influencing Christians in non-registered churches. Only those invited by the TSPM may legally function as instructors for a short period of time in the official church and its seminaries. But large numbers of Protestants enter China each year with the express purpose of training house church leaders.

Ethnic Chinese from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and elsewhere move without detection more easily, of course. Even if the government knows of their comings and goings, they are largely left alone. But Caucasians, and particularly those from the United States, are considered highly dangerous elements. If they are caught teaching Chinese believers, they will be expelled from the country, and their students will be interrogated, video-taped, and warned to avoid future contact with foreigners.

Other Americans and Europeans go to China as teachers of English or other subjects, or as business people. If they share their faith too openly with students, or engage in religious activities that reveal the true reason for their presence, they may be – and, since March, 2007, increasingly are – ordered to leave and not return for at least five years. Reports indicate that more than one hundred have been kicked out in the past year.

Rural vulnerability

Though we have painted a picture of relatively mild treatment so far, the situation may be far more harsh in the countryside, where the house churches first experienced explosive growth in the 1970s and continue to exert a powerful presence. Just as the Communist Party came to power through largely peasant revolt, so they are keenly conscious of the potential for another movement from the hinterland that would overturn the government.

Peasant uprisings have either overthrown or seriously de-stabilized Chinese central authority many times in the past, feeding on discontent over inequities and the corruption of venal officials. With violent demonstrations numbering in the tens of thousands annually now, the current government is in a state of high alert. They know that village and town officials are lining their pockets with unsavory deals, often taking land from farmers and selling it to developers. The thought that the so-far disconnected expressions of popular discontent could coalesce into a coordinated movement terrifies them.

With their vast and well-organized networks, house churches seem particularly dangerous as did the Buddhist-inspired Falun Gong movement, until it was effectively crushed in an extremely harsh crackdown.

If you add to this mix the growing number of semi-Christian sects, some of them millenarian like Buddhist and Daoist societies of previous centuries, you can understand why the Communists, who are, at best, theologically challenged and unable to discern between orthodoxy and heresy, would lump them all into the same rebellious category.

Chinese rulers have always been unmerciful to political insurgents, so those who are suspected may be fiercely beaten, tortured, and even killed for illegal activity. Assembling for Protestant worship outside of a TSPM church, and under non-TSPM leadership, is against the law. Those who do so are liable to summary detention without warrant and worse.

That is the background of the stories you read in The Heavenly Man and other books, like No Limitations, a more credible and sober account by another rural house church leader.(2) It also explains why people like Werner Burklin can blandly deny the existence of religious persecution and say that the police only punish lawbreakers.(3)

Different strategies

How do Christians and their leaders respond to this confusing situation? Some,
as we have seen, worship, teach, train, and even evangelize openly, almost daring the government to step in. Others, far more numerous, try to keep the number of people meeting in homes to about twenty, but with no attempt to escape notice. Still others seek to avoid any attention. Their gatherings are by invitation only, and the singing may sometimes even be either “silent” or very quiet.

Returning Chinese

As for contact Caucasian Americans, some Chinese Christians have begun to be wary of the possible fallout from such association. Is it worth the trouble to have Caucasians come and teach? Increasingly, that question is being answered in the negative. A few of them believe that outsiders not only lack the necessary language and culture awareness to speak effectively to Chinese Christians, but that their very presence raises the question of patriotism, and taints locals with the suspicion of loyalty to an alien power.

Still, thousands of American Christians continue to teach and study in China, and others work with companies doing business there. The government knows all about them, and leaves most of them alone. Chinese extend their customary hospitality, and many find faith as a result. These believers want to remain friends with the foreigners, and may even risk trouble to do so.

Summary

So, do Christians face persecution in China today? No, and yes. They may worship in any legally-sanctioned TSPM church without fear of reprisal. On the other hand, even members of the official church may find their lives complicated. Being too open about your Christian faith may not be a good career move. For one thing, you can’t belong to the Communist Party, which is the best guarantee of success in society.

If you lead an unregistered congregation, you could encounter anything from mild harassment to cruel punishment – though the former is much more common than the latter. It largely depends upon the local officials. Have you offended your village head? Do you have land that could be sold to a developer? Has your clan been at odds with the PSB officer’s family? Are there old grudges to settle in the name of enforcing the law?

In some places, like Wenzhou, the “Jerusalem of China,” you might be able to build and use a large church building with no interference from the government. On the other hand, it could be demolished one day by bulldozers on the grounds that such a structure violates the law – which is true.

What should American Christians do?

What stance should American Christians take? Should we petition the White House for more intervention to protect Chinese believers? Should we keep sending people in to train house church leaders?

In my opinion, the answer to the first question is an emphatic “NO!” The last thing Chinese Christians need is for the U.S. Government to confirm China’s rulers’ suspicions that they are willing tools in the hands of America’s perceived drive for world hegemony.

Despite their vast intelligence apparatus, China’s leaders are generally unable to think “outside the box” and can’t imagine that American believers simply want to share their faith while in China. Ever paranoid, they assume that our government is doing just what theirs is, and that Christian organizations, like their own TSPM, are closely linked with national interests. They really believe that many American Christians have ties to the CIA and the Pentagon. It’s a pity, but largely true.

Less emphatically, I would say also that now may not be the best time for Caucasian Americans to make contact with Chinese Christians, except on a very low-key and informal basis. Large-scale meetings, which are easy to break up, might not be the best way to help spread the Gospel in China. Maybe things will loosen up after the Olympics; maybe not. Meanwhile, the Chinese government knows who we are, where we go, and with whom we meet. Do we want to make life more difficult for our Chinese brothers and sisters just to satisfy our own desire to “do something” for the church in China? I hope not.

What can we do? Pray – for the leaders of China, that they will realize that their Christians citizens merely want to be left alone to worship and serve God and that they contribute to society; and for Chinese Christians, that they will be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” as they seek to shine like lights in a land that desperately needs the grace and truth of Christ.

We can also make use of every opportunity to befriend Chinese living overseas, where they have freedom to explore the claims of the Gospel. Finally, legitimate business, genuine service projects, and serious study in China – as distinct from using these as a flimsy “cover” for evangelism – will allow foreigners to learn more about Chinese language and culture and to live lives of beauty before watching eyes.

Footnotes

(1) Some naïve Westerners have made similar claims. See Verner….
(2) Shen, Xiao Feng. No Limitations: Brother Shen Xiao Feng – his story and writings with Dr. David Hunt. WorldServe Publishing, 2006.
(3) Werner Burklin. Jesus Never Left China: The Rest of the Story – The Untold Story of the Church in China Now Exposed. Enumclaw, Washington: Pleasant Word (a division of WinePress Publishing), 2005.