Religious Persecution in China

I am a supporter of the Council on Foreign Affairs (CFR) centered in New York City and Washington, D.C. It is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank. They are an elite source for learning about world affairs. In fact, their outstanding magazine is called Foreign Affairs.

Today, I attended a one-hour, CFR, zoomed webinar entitled “Religious Persecution in China.” It was overseen by CFR’s Irina Faskianor, Vice President of National Program and Outreach. It was moderated by CFR’s Sarah Cook. She presented questions to a panel that consisted of Bob (Xigiu) Fu, Louisa Greve, and Cynthia Sun. Bob is a Chinese exiled pastor now living in the U.S. and the founder and president of the organization ChinaAid. Louisa is director of global advocacy for the Uyghur Human Rights Project. And Cynthia is a young Chinese woman who is senior researcher at the Buddhist Falun Dafa Information Center in New York.

American Christian Workers Fled China in 1949

I’ve had American friends who were Christian missionaries in China who had to flee the country right before Mao Zedong’s Communist Party of China (CPC) took control of the country through the Chinese Revolution of 1949, then naming China the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). One was my dear friend Henry Corey, a Presbyterian missionary who inspired me to become a Christian author. Evangelist Billy Graham’s father-in-law, Dr. Nelson Bell, also was a Presbyterian missionary in China who fled in 1949. Afterwards, Billy Graham was well known for preaching against atheistic Communism.

Because the Communist Party of China is atheistic, it has constantly repressed religion, often to the point of severe persecution that includes imprisonment and exile. Yet CPC even today spreads the propaganda that China has “freedom of religion.”

The three biggest religions in China, besides folk religion, are Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. There are Buddhist temples and government approved church buildings in China, but such churches are controlled by the state. Thus, an underground church movement has always existed since 1949 that is now quite numerous and growing.

Examples of Religious Persecution in China

Sarah Cook asked Bob Fu about the government persecution of the church in China. He said in recent years the government has been increasing its persecution of Christians. He related an example in which Chinese Christians who leave the country to attend a Christian conference or a Bible study in some other country, when they return to China they are often “charged by authorities for illegal border crossings and imprisoned.”

Louisa Greve showed several photos of a young Chinese woman who is now imprisoned in China for 14 years for the “crime” of routinely studying the Qu’ran 30 minutes per day with her father.

Cynthia Sun affirmed this by saying the Chinese government has been “cracking down on people who study religious or philosophical texts not approved by authorities.” She said Freedom House, a U.S. organization, has documented thousands of such sentences, with people being imprisoned up to 15 years for such violations.

Bob followed this up by relating that the Chinese government has removed all Bible apps from electronic devices, such as smart phones, sold in Apples stores in China.

Louisa said surveillance in China is “24/7” and “100 times greater than in most other countries.” She said people ages 12 to 60 must have government face scans and voice scans. It is a tracking system called Big Data.

Both Bob and Cynthia said the Communist Party of China is atheistic, and Cynthia said it is “fighting against the spiritual.” Bob called it “a spiritual war.” Cynthia said not all government officials persecute religious people, but those who do get promoted.

Q and A

Sarah then moderated a Q and A from the listening audience. The first question was about how the Vatican was doing in promoting the Catholic Church in China. Bob answered, but it was difficult for me to hear him on this one.

The second question was about how future clergy persons will be trained in light of this. Bob related that Chinese approved churches must sing the national anthem before being allowed to sing hymns. Bob then related that he was exiled as a “believer in God as Creator and in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Bob said there is “religious revival” in China.

The third question was about how the Russian Orthodox Church is surviving in China. Bob took this question but admitted that it did not know much about it.

China’s Religious Repression Is Not Working

Sarah then interjected that “it is amazing how much China’s repression of religion has failed.” Cynthia added that “a lot of Chinese citizens see the future of China without the Communist Party.” Sarah added that she has talked to people in China who say that.

Cynthia got the last comment, saying, “Be cautious of all Chinese government officials.” Why is that? They are full of propaganda.