The situation regarding religious freedom in China is complex. While the phenomenal growth experienced in China's state-sanctioned, registered (i.e. legal) churches is encouraging and truly inspiring, the regulations imposed on these churches are for many, simply unacceptable and prohibitive.
Rather than submit to what they regard as unacceptable levels of regulation, the overwhelming majority of Chinese Christians risk serious persecution in order to worship freely. Meeting and worshipping in unregistered (i.e. illegal) house churches -- without Chinese Communist Party (CCP) permission, without CCP supervision, defying CCP restrictions on movement and evangelism etc -- they risk fines and "administrative detentions" (no charge or trial required) of up to15 days in prison or up to three years in Mao's laogai (a "gulag" of more than 900 state-owned, CCP-administered slave labour camps. Of course this is one reason why "Made in China" is so cheap.)
Propaganda Alert!
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is presently engaged in a strategic global propaganda campaign. The CCP wants everyone to know that it is today a party of suits, not fatigues; advancing prosperity, security and Chinese culture, not revolution.
The CCP's aim is doubtless to bolster nationalistic zeal, delegitimise both domestic and international criticism, and obscure the fact that China remains a totalitarian state.
See: The (propaganda) empire strikes in China
By Kent Ewing, Asia Times on Line, 24 Aug 2010
Included in this propaganda campaign are efforts to present China as a land of great religious liberty where Christianity flourishes, despite regulations.
Chinese authorities recently gave the BBC "unprecedented access" to China's state-sanctioned churches and religious institutions, including Amity House where some 12 million Bibles are published each year (at least 40 percent for export).
Of course the BBC subsequently released a glowing report on the Chinese Communist Party's "commitment to supporting the development of Christianity".
See: China invests in confident Christians
By Christopher Landau BBC News, China, 23 August 2010
"Three decades ago, China's Cultural Revolution saw some of the most dramatic restrictions on the practice of religion ever seen in the modern world.
"But today's communist rulers have radically altered their views about religion and have granted substantial freedom to Christians prepared to worship within state-sanctioned churches.
"Within these boundaries, Christianity is growing in China as never before - and doing so supported by millions of dollars of government funding. . . "
ALSO:
HEART & SOUL, on BBC radio.
Christianity in China
• Episode 1
• Episode 2
The BBC report was of course picked up by others and quickly multiplied -- its message echoing many times over across the globe.
As exciting as church growth in state-sanctioned churches is, this is not the whole story, indeed, it may be little more than a facade, erected to hide totalitarian repression.
In March 2010, I a highlighted an important lecture by Richard Madsen who comments on the fact that while CCP methods of control have evolved, the CCP still demands the church accept the "government master, religion follower" formula of Imperial China's sacral hegemony.
This is indeed the sense we get from listening to the BBC radio programs. The CCP is clearly more than happy to have the church exist as a "servant" to the state, filling in gaps in social services, helping to keep the masses satiated and pacified. However, the CCP is definitely not willing to have the church to act as "prophet".
Meanwhile, along with its interest in exploiting Christian service, the money-idolising CCP is also seriously interested in seeing if it can exploit the link between Protestant Christianity and economic prosperity. Maybe they are gambling that a carefully measured and closely supervised dose of medicinal Christianity will make CCP-ruled China rich. Of course it is absolutely imperative that this medicinal Christianity be "carefully measured" and "closely supervised", for the CCP is fully aware of the problems that could be triggered by an overdose.
In August, the state-funded Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) released its Annual Report on China's Religions.
See: Academy releases report on religion
Source: Global Times, 13 August 2010
According to the CASS report, China currently has 23.05 million Protestant Christians, of which almost one-third converted since 2003. Furthermore, 60 percent said they turned to Christianity after they or family members suffered from illness, while more than half of Chinese Protestants have not received secondary schooling.
Of course many would dispute those statistics. Fan Yafeng (41) a researcher with the Zhongfu Shengshan Institute and ex-CASS researcher flatly rejects CASS's findings as "ridiculous". A house church member for 13 years, Fan asserts that there are at least 500,000 Protestants in Beijing alone -- five times the figure asserted by the CASS -- and that a lot of them are well-educated professionals and intellectuals.
The aim of the CASS report is doubtless to elevate the role of the CCP in the alleged recent explosion of Christianity -- thereby establishing the church's debt to the regime -- while diminishing the Christians themselves as needy and under-educated, i.e. weak and vulnerable, i.e. not the sort of crowd with which any strong, intelligent and influential individual might wish to identify.
Preserving the CCP
Jamestown's China Brief has published a hugely significant study (in two parts) by Arthur Waldron, in which Waldron analyses an eight-part television series in which Chinese social scientists analyse the fall of the Soviet regime. The series is called "Preparing for Danger in Times of Safety -- Historic Lessons Learned from the Demise of Soviet Communism".
According to Waldron the series attributes the demise of the Soviet regime, not to openness or restructuring, but to very specific failures of the Soviet Union Communist Party (SUCP). Decade-long research has determined that the Soviet regime failed "because," reports Waldron, "it gave up the dictatorship of the proletariat, ceased to practice democratic centralism, criticized Stalin, was beguiled by western concepts such as democracy, and also tripped up by Western propaganda and other operations."
The series adulates Lenin and Stalin, while demonising Khrushchev and Gorbachev. Waldron quotes Chinese social scientists Zhou Xincheng and Guan Xueliang who maintain: "The disorders of the 1980s and 1990s in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe all have a conspicuous characteristic, which is that they were all set in motion by negation of and attacks on 'the Stalin model'." They regard Khrushchev's "secret speech" of 14 February 1956 -- "On Personal Worship and its Consequences", in which he denounced Stalin before the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union -- as the beginning of the end. Waldron notes that even today, no criticism of either Stalin or Mao is permitted in China, although Mao is the subject of considerable public criticism regardless.
The Chinese analysts firmly believe that the situation in the Soviet Union could have been salvaged had the Soviets adopted the path subsequently followed by China: adhered to Marxist-Leninist theory and paths while correctly solving its problems and conflicts, correcting mistakes with courage. They conclude that the Soviet regime fell because, in its attempts to make the system more "humane", it failed to maintain a comprehensive dictatorship. "The consensus is," writes Waldron, "that Gorbachev was beguiled by the siren song of 'humanitarian socialism'."
"Such" writes Waldron," is the Chinese official -- it must be stressed official -- diagnosis of the Soviet failure, and from the diagnosis will flow the policy solution. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that party discipline and unity are at the top of the list of issues being stressed publicly in China today, and simple repression is regularly employed as a means of dealing with tensions, while relatively less emphasis is placed on how to cope with the vast challenges posed to any authoritarian government by a dynamic, growing, and ever-differentiating society."
Waldron regards China's "concealed history" as a ticking time bomb. "It is a good bet," he reckons, "that someone in [the next] generation of leadership will make a Chinese 'secret speech' and turn to the ideas of humanity in socialism, even though they are today officially excoriated in analyses of the disintegration of the Soviet Union."
Chinese Analyses of Soviet Failure: The Party
Publication: China Brief Volume: 9 Issue: 23
November 19, 2009 By: Arthur Waldron for Jamestown
Chinese Analyses of Soviet Failure: Humanitarian Socialism
Publication: China Brief Volume: 10 Issue: 11
May 27, 2010, By: Arthur Waldron
No matter what happens, the CCP does not have the last word on Christianity in China.
Antonio Weiss writes in the Guardian:"With the state now actively financing Christianity, China could well become the largest Christian country in the world."
Weiss' assessment is only partly correct.
For "Yes", China is set to emerge as the world's largest Christian country. Indeed, China is destined to become the greatest missionary-sending nation the world has ever seen.
But "No", it will not be on account of the Chinese Communist Party.
Rather, all the glory will be God's.
For HE alone is sovereign.
And HE is doing a great work in China.
Showing posts with label Communist Party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Communist Party. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sacrificed on the altar of "quiet diplomacy"?
". . .the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys." (Isaiah 21:2a ESV)
VIETNAM: Archbishop of Hanoi, Msgr. Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet (57), replaced.
Those who have followed the dramatic developments in Vietnam over the recent years will know the significance of Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, Archbishop of Hanoi. Msgr. Kiet has risked his own life and liberty seeking justice and religious freedom for the church in Vietnam. In the process he inspired many hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese Catholics, as well as local Protestants and global religious liberty advocates. Consequently, Kiet became a thorn in the flesh of the repressive Communist Party dictatorship that rules Vietnam -- a regime that has spent recent years escalating repression.
BACKGROUND
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels stated in their 1848 Communist Manifesto: 'The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.' Consequently, when the Communists came to power in northern Vietnam in 1945 and in the south in 1975, they confiscated private properties, including those owned by the Church.
Vietnamese Catholics and Protestants have long sought the return of their confiscated properties. For decades the Church and State have been stuck in a cycle of political and diplomatic jostling: church petitions -- government rejections -- church petitions with international support -- minimalist government appeasement followed by more land seizures and demolitions -- more church petitions followed by frustration and discouragement.
In December 2007, as Msgr Kiet petitioned the government for the return of Hanoi nunciature (the Vatican Embassy -- a large and beautiful historic house built next to St Joseph's Cathedral -- confiscated in 1959), he decided to try a new strategy. Frustrated by years of futile political activism, Archbishop Kiet simply asked the faithful to pray. And pray they did. On 18 December 2007, as a Spirit of prayer gripped the church, the Catholic faithful poured out onto the streets of Hanoi.
The public prayer vigils initially focused on the Hanoi nunciature. Crowds grew daily until, on Christmas Eve of 2007, some 5,000 Catholic faithful sang, worshipped and prayed in the open air outside the Hanoi nunciature.
And that was merely the beginning. The prayer vigils spread to other sites across the city as Catholics came out to show solidarity and pray for justice and religious liberty. The prayer vigils in Hanoi's Thai Ha Redemptorist parish were particular large. Those participating in the prayer vigils held flowers and crosses, and candles on dark nights and umbrellas on rainy days.
By August 2008, the government was clearly stressed. Responding as dictator regimes do, they sent in riot police to break up prayer vigils; they started beating and arresting participants and journalists; they started beating and arresting their lawyers; they started sending in Communist vigilantes to do government dirty-work; and they accused Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of inciting protests.
The Catholics, however, were not bowed -- the prayer vigils continued.
Eventually the authorities agreed to return Hanoi's apostolic nunciature to church ownership if only the Catholics would end the prayer vigils.
The Catholics ended their vigils, and then, on 19 September 2008, the Communists bulldozed the Hanoi nunciature to the ground and turned the site into a public park.
". . .the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys." (Isaiah 21:2a)
Despite the loss of the Hanoi nunciature the prayer vigils continued. On Sunday 21 September 2008, some 10,000 Catholics turned out in the street to sing, worship and pray for justice and religious liberty. It was the largest public demonstration seen in Vietnam since the Communists seized power.
The Communist Party responded with a virulent media campaign targeting Msgr Kiet and calling for his removal. The Catholic faithful responded with yet more prayer vigils, this time in support of Archbishop Kiet.
See:
Vietnam: Prayer vigils push government to breaking point.
Religious Liberty News & Analysis by Elizabeth Kendal, 16 September 2008
VIETNAM: PRAYER VIGILS CONFRONT GOVERNMENT
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLP) 496, Wed 17 Sep 2008
Vietnam: Govt belligerence escalates against Hanoi Catholics.
Religious Liberty News & Analysis by Elizabeth Kendal, 26 September 2008
Vietnamese Catholics Under Communist Iron Grip.
VietCatholic News 29 Sept 2008 (includes pictures)
Biggest protest since 1954 over Hanoi old nunciature demolition
CathNews 22 Sept 2010
State media launch campaign for Hanoi’s archbishop removal
VietCatholic News, 17 Oct 2008 (with photos)
The struggle continued through 2009, with more prayer vigils and more property destruction.
See:
VIETNAM: GREATER DESTRUCTION AS PERSECUTION ESCALATES
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) 009, Wed 17 Jun 2009
VIETNAM: BRUTALITY CONFRONTED THROUGH PRAYER
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) 017, Wed 12 Aug 2009
. . . and into 2010 . . .
See:
Redemptorist Superior General urges prayer for persecuted Vietnamese Catholics.
Catholic News Agency, 26 Jan 2010 (with picture)
KIET "RETIRES"
In April 2010, Msgr. Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet (57), Archbishop of Hanoi, announced that he would "retire" for health reason. He would be replaced by Bishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon (72), a bishop who has the approval of the Communist Party.
Msgr. Kiet reports that his chronic insomnia and asthenia (weakness) is preventing him from fulfilling his duties as Archbishop and so he sought leave from the Vatican to retire. According to Kiet, neither the Bishop's Conference nor the Holy See wanted to accept his resignation. Eventually however, he managed to convince them. Msgr. Kiet is appealing to Vietnamese Catholics to embrace their new Archbishop and stay united.
See:
Archbishop Kiet: They did not want me to retire, I had to ask the Pope myself
by J.B. An Dang, Hanoi, AsiaNews 14 May 2010.
The Communist Party however, is singing a different tune. According to official State media reports, the Communist Party is treating the removal of Kiet as a significant victory on their "road map" to removing stubborn, dissident, religious liberty activist priests. According to State media, the Vatican agreed to remove Kiet and replace him with government-approved Bishop Nguyen Van Nhon, in exchange for a Papal visit to Vietnam and talks on normalisation of diplomatic ties.
See: Hanoi launches a press campaign, using Msgr. Kiet to discredit the Vatican
by Emily Nguyen, Hanoi, AsiaNews, 13 May 2010
The drama is dividing the church. Catholics who believe Kiet is telling the whole and absolute truth, suspect there is a government conspiracy afoot to hurt the Vatican. Others sense a government conspiracy to silence Kiet and decapitate the prayer movement, and that they secured Kiet's removal in a deal struck with the Vatican.
The division is such that the government is scoring a victory no matter what the truth of the matter. However, if Kiet is telling the whole truth, then the Pope needs to confirm his story with a public statement that will end speculation and division. The fact that the Pope has not done so only fuels suspicion that the Communist Party's version is the correct one. Clearly the Communist Party is using its media channels to stoke division -- and doubtless it is loving every minute of it.
". . .the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys." (Isaiah 21:2a )
Asia Times Online is unambiguous in its assessment, publishing its report under the title: Vatican, Vietnam sacrifice a holy man (Asia Times Online, 7 May 2010).
The author writes, "Against this backdrop [the continuing prayer vigils and years of persistent government slander and threats against Msgr. Kiet], President Nguyen Minh Triet paid a visit to Pope Benedict XVI in December 2009, following Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's historic Vatican trip in 2007. The two sides are reported to be discussing normalization of diplomatic ties.
"Following Triet's meeting with the pope, Kiet went on medical leave and traveled to Rome for treatment. Vietnamese Catholic websites report that Triet insisted that the Vatican remove Kiet as a condition for establishing closer ties. This request, if true, would be consistent with the tone of government-controlled newspapers.
"On returning to Vietnam in April [2010], Kiet announced that he was retiring, for 'health reasons'. His stepping down, though not unexpected, was a disappointment for many Vietnamese, Catholic and non-Catholic, who admired his courageous leadership. Several online petitions have been organized calling on Pope Benedict to keep Kiet as archbishop of Hanoi."
See also :
Vietnam: Catholics shaken by new Hanoi coadjutor's appointment
VietCatholic News, 23 Apr 2010
A ceremony to install Bishop Nguyen Van Nhon of Dalat, President of Vietnam Episcopal Council, as coadjutor archbishop of Hanoi, was held on 7 May. It was however, met with angry protests.
See:
Repercussion of Hanoi coadjutor installation ceremony
VietCatholic News (09 May 2010) (includes photos)
Hanoi Catholic journalist JB Nguyen Huu Vinh, who was beaten by police in February as he was reporting religious repression, told VietCatholic News that he fears the controversy will hurt the good standing the Catholic hierarchy has had in the eyes of Catholic faithful.
Reporting on the installation ceremony he wrote: "In a strategy obviously planned to avoid a direct confrontation with protestors, the procession of bishops and clergy had to enter through a side door, not the main entrance of the cathedral as in other previous solemn ceremony.
"Likewise, at the end of the ceremony, the bishops returned to the archbishopric office by a backdoor where they could escape the sea of protestors." Further to this, reports Huu Vinh, the new coadjutor bishop of Hanoi, Mgr. Peter Nguyen Van Nhon did not give the traditional blessings to the faithful.
And so it appears likely that Archbishop Kiet has met the fate of other problematic front-line religious liberty and justice advocates and been sacrificed on the altar of "quiet diplomacy" by Church leaders who, for some reason and despite the evidence of history, continue to invest their hopes and trust in human beings and human institutions, even in traitors and destroyers whose ultimate ambition is to silence the song of God's people.
VIETNAM: Archbishop of Hanoi, Msgr. Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet (57), replaced.
Those who have followed the dramatic developments in Vietnam over the recent years will know the significance of Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, Archbishop of Hanoi. Msgr. Kiet has risked his own life and liberty seeking justice and religious freedom for the church in Vietnam. In the process he inspired many hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese Catholics, as well as local Protestants and global religious liberty advocates. Consequently, Kiet became a thorn in the flesh of the repressive Communist Party dictatorship that rules Vietnam -- a regime that has spent recent years escalating repression.
BACKGROUND
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels stated in their 1848 Communist Manifesto: 'The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.' Consequently, when the Communists came to power in northern Vietnam in 1945 and in the south in 1975, they confiscated private properties, including those owned by the Church.
Vietnamese Catholics and Protestants have long sought the return of their confiscated properties. For decades the Church and State have been stuck in a cycle of political and diplomatic jostling: church petitions -- government rejections -- church petitions with international support -- minimalist government appeasement followed by more land seizures and demolitions -- more church petitions followed by frustration and discouragement.
In December 2007, as Msgr Kiet petitioned the government for the return of Hanoi nunciature (the Vatican Embassy -- a large and beautiful historic house built next to St Joseph's Cathedral -- confiscated in 1959), he decided to try a new strategy. Frustrated by years of futile political activism, Archbishop Kiet simply asked the faithful to pray. And pray they did. On 18 December 2007, as a Spirit of prayer gripped the church, the Catholic faithful poured out onto the streets of Hanoi.
The public prayer vigils initially focused on the Hanoi nunciature. Crowds grew daily until, on Christmas Eve of 2007, some 5,000 Catholic faithful sang, worshipped and prayed in the open air outside the Hanoi nunciature.
And that was merely the beginning. The prayer vigils spread to other sites across the city as Catholics came out to show solidarity and pray for justice and religious liberty. The prayer vigils in Hanoi's Thai Ha Redemptorist parish were particular large. Those participating in the prayer vigils held flowers and crosses, and candles on dark nights and umbrellas on rainy days.
By August 2008, the government was clearly stressed. Responding as dictator regimes do, they sent in riot police to break up prayer vigils; they started beating and arresting participants and journalists; they started beating and arresting their lawyers; they started sending in Communist vigilantes to do government dirty-work; and they accused Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of inciting protests.
The Catholics, however, were not bowed -- the prayer vigils continued.
Eventually the authorities agreed to return Hanoi's apostolic nunciature to church ownership if only the Catholics would end the prayer vigils.
The Catholics ended their vigils, and then, on 19 September 2008, the Communists bulldozed the Hanoi nunciature to the ground and turned the site into a public park.
". . .the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys." (Isaiah 21:2a)
Despite the loss of the Hanoi nunciature the prayer vigils continued. On Sunday 21 September 2008, some 10,000 Catholics turned out in the street to sing, worship and pray for justice and religious liberty. It was the largest public demonstration seen in Vietnam since the Communists seized power.
The Communist Party responded with a virulent media campaign targeting Msgr Kiet and calling for his removal. The Catholic faithful responded with yet more prayer vigils, this time in support of Archbishop Kiet.
See:
Vietnam: Prayer vigils push government to breaking point.
Religious Liberty News & Analysis by Elizabeth Kendal, 16 September 2008
VIETNAM: PRAYER VIGILS CONFRONT GOVERNMENT
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLP) 496, Wed 17 Sep 2008
Vietnam: Govt belligerence escalates against Hanoi Catholics.
Religious Liberty News & Analysis by Elizabeth Kendal, 26 September 2008
Vietnamese Catholics Under Communist Iron Grip.
VietCatholic News 29 Sept 2008 (includes pictures)
Biggest protest since 1954 over Hanoi old nunciature demolition
CathNews 22 Sept 2010
State media launch campaign for Hanoi’s archbishop removal
VietCatholic News, 17 Oct 2008 (with photos)
The struggle continued through 2009, with more prayer vigils and more property destruction.
See:
VIETNAM: GREATER DESTRUCTION AS PERSECUTION ESCALATES
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) 009, Wed 17 Jun 2009
VIETNAM: BRUTALITY CONFRONTED THROUGH PRAYER
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) 017, Wed 12 Aug 2009
. . . and into 2010 . . .
See:
Redemptorist Superior General urges prayer for persecuted Vietnamese Catholics.
Catholic News Agency, 26 Jan 2010 (with picture)
KIET "RETIRES"
In April 2010, Msgr. Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet (57), Archbishop of Hanoi, announced that he would "retire" for health reason. He would be replaced by Bishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon (72), a bishop who has the approval of the Communist Party.
Msgr. Kiet reports that his chronic insomnia and asthenia (weakness) is preventing him from fulfilling his duties as Archbishop and so he sought leave from the Vatican to retire. According to Kiet, neither the Bishop's Conference nor the Holy See wanted to accept his resignation. Eventually however, he managed to convince them. Msgr. Kiet is appealing to Vietnamese Catholics to embrace their new Archbishop and stay united.
See:
Archbishop Kiet: They did not want me to retire, I had to ask the Pope myself
by J.B. An Dang, Hanoi, AsiaNews 14 May 2010.
The Communist Party however, is singing a different tune. According to official State media reports, the Communist Party is treating the removal of Kiet as a significant victory on their "road map" to removing stubborn, dissident, religious liberty activist priests. According to State media, the Vatican agreed to remove Kiet and replace him with government-approved Bishop Nguyen Van Nhon, in exchange for a Papal visit to Vietnam and talks on normalisation of diplomatic ties.
See: Hanoi launches a press campaign, using Msgr. Kiet to discredit the Vatican
by Emily Nguyen, Hanoi, AsiaNews, 13 May 2010
The drama is dividing the church. Catholics who believe Kiet is telling the whole and absolute truth, suspect there is a government conspiracy afoot to hurt the Vatican. Others sense a government conspiracy to silence Kiet and decapitate the prayer movement, and that they secured Kiet's removal in a deal struck with the Vatican.
The division is such that the government is scoring a victory no matter what the truth of the matter. However, if Kiet is telling the whole truth, then the Pope needs to confirm his story with a public statement that will end speculation and division. The fact that the Pope has not done so only fuels suspicion that the Communist Party's version is the correct one. Clearly the Communist Party is using its media channels to stoke division -- and doubtless it is loving every minute of it.
". . .the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys." (Isaiah 21:2a )
Asia Times Online is unambiguous in its assessment, publishing its report under the title: Vatican, Vietnam sacrifice a holy man (Asia Times Online, 7 May 2010).
The author writes, "Against this backdrop [the continuing prayer vigils and years of persistent government slander and threats against Msgr. Kiet], President Nguyen Minh Triet paid a visit to Pope Benedict XVI in December 2009, following Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's historic Vatican trip in 2007. The two sides are reported to be discussing normalization of diplomatic ties.
"Following Triet's meeting with the pope, Kiet went on medical leave and traveled to Rome for treatment. Vietnamese Catholic websites report that Triet insisted that the Vatican remove Kiet as a condition for establishing closer ties. This request, if true, would be consistent with the tone of government-controlled newspapers.
"On returning to Vietnam in April [2010], Kiet announced that he was retiring, for 'health reasons'. His stepping down, though not unexpected, was a disappointment for many Vietnamese, Catholic and non-Catholic, who admired his courageous leadership. Several online petitions have been organized calling on Pope Benedict to keep Kiet as archbishop of Hanoi."
See also :
Vietnam: Catholics shaken by new Hanoi coadjutor's appointment
VietCatholic News, 23 Apr 2010
A ceremony to install Bishop Nguyen Van Nhon of Dalat, President of Vietnam Episcopal Council, as coadjutor archbishop of Hanoi, was held on 7 May. It was however, met with angry protests.
See:
Repercussion of Hanoi coadjutor installation ceremony
VietCatholic News (09 May 2010) (includes photos)
Hanoi Catholic journalist JB Nguyen Huu Vinh, who was beaten by police in February as he was reporting religious repression, told VietCatholic News that he fears the controversy will hurt the good standing the Catholic hierarchy has had in the eyes of Catholic faithful.
Reporting on the installation ceremony he wrote: "In a strategy obviously planned to avoid a direct confrontation with protestors, the procession of bishops and clergy had to enter through a side door, not the main entrance of the cathedral as in other previous solemn ceremony.
"Likewise, at the end of the ceremony, the bishops returned to the archbishopric office by a backdoor where they could escape the sea of protestors." Further to this, reports Huu Vinh, the new coadjutor bishop of Hanoi, Mgr. Peter Nguyen Van Nhon did not give the traditional blessings to the faithful.
And so it appears likely that Archbishop Kiet has met the fate of other problematic front-line religious liberty and justice advocates and been sacrificed on the altar of "quiet diplomacy" by Church leaders who, for some reason and despite the evidence of history, continue to invest their hopes and trust in human beings and human institutions, even in traitors and destroyers whose ultimate ambition is to silence the song of God's people.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
An analysis of religious policy in China
I would like to alert all religious liberty monitors and analysts to a paper that has been released by the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI).
The Templeton Lecture on Religion and World Affairs
Back to the Future: Pre-modern Religious Policy in Post-Secular China
By Richard Madsen. 15 March 2010
http://www.fpri.org/enotes/201003.madsen.postsecularchina.html
FPRI introduces Richard Madsen as: "the Distinguished Professor & Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author or co-author of eleven books on Chinese culture, American culture, and international relations."
What I offer here is a mere summary of Madsen's main arguments and observations concerning Chinese Communist Party's religious policy and its implications for the Chinese Protestants. Anyone interested in truly understanding the evolution of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) policy on religion, should read Madsen's whole paper for themselves.
Madsen notes that the Chinese government's policy on religion has been based on the secularisation theory that religion will eventually die out, becoming irrelevant as modernisation advances. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that religion is not dying out and is even growing and dynamically evolving and reviving. According to Madsen, "Many social scientists are now saying that the secularization thesis is wrong and that we need a post-secularist social theory to account for the empirically obvious facts of the early twenty-first century. Religious belief and practice have not faded away, and in many parts of the world they are playing a more obvious role in public life than in the past century."
Madsen provides a detailed and insightful look at: "CCP Policy Towards Religion", and "Religion in China Today", concluding that the theoretical categories the CCP has long used to define religion and determine the difference between religion and superstition are simply no longer applicable. "The secularist assumptions behind the government's religious policy-that religion will gradually and inevitably, if not as quickly as once believed, fade away-are untenable."
"As a result the policy itself-which aims to constrain the growth of religion, to confine it to the private sphere, and to keep it from affecting politics and ethnic relations-has utterly failed, even on its own terms. Despite all efforts to control its growth, religion has grown rapidly and overwhelmed China's systems for surveillance and control. Clumsy methods of suppressing unwanted forms of religion have actually intensified religiously inspired conflict with the state. The attempt to disconnect religion from ethnic conflict has only added religious zeal to ethnic struggle. The failure is obvious enough that the leadership of the Communist Party has begun to recognize it and is searching for a new approach to religious policy."
Then under the heading: "Groping Toward a New Policy", Madsen provides an insightful analysis of evolving CCP policy. The trends he examines are trends I have been monitoring for over a decade.
Madsen notes the establishment of the public security forces, a secret police organisation which bypasses the state criminal justice system and reports directly to the CCP leadership. "Although originally developed [in 1999] to destroy an 'evil cult,' [Falungong] it has extended its reach to cover political dissidents and other threats to Party domination. The expanded organization has recently been given a new name-the 'Harmonious Society Security Office'.
"Initiatives toward increased tolerance of some religious activities are joined with new methods of repression toward others. There does not seem to be much central coordination of these separate developments, and they separately develop at their own pace according to the ambitions of the various bureaucratic units that were their source. Recognizing the incoherence of its ad hoc policies, the Party is looking for a new theoretical framework to guide its approach toward religion. The framework seems to be heading back to the future, away from a modernist Marxist version of secularism and toward a modernized version of Imperial China's sacral hegemony."
Concerning this New Imperial Sacral Hegemony, Madsen writes that historically, the Emperor, as the 'Son of Heaven', was mandated to mediate between heaven and earth. The Emperor differentiated between right religious practise and false (mythical/superstitious) religious practice. Often it was the case that for religious practice to be defined as right and true, it merely had to bolster social stability under imperial rule. Emperors controlled large communities by means of imperial patronage, and institutions and leaders would be rewarded for their loyalty.
"However," writes Madsen, "sectarian organizations that gathered people together from many different communities, contravened gender distinctions by allowing men and women to worship together as equals, preached an imminent end to the present era, and sometimes became the organizational basis for rebellion-such organizations might be labeled heterodox and persecuted strongly."
[. . .]
"As noted in a recent paper by Zhuo Xinping, the director of the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Science, the basic principle of imperial policy toward religion was that 'the government is the master, religion the follower (zhengzhu, jiaocong)'."
As Madsen notes, in recent years the CCP has moved to rebrand itself. No longer does the CCP promote itself as a party of revolution, but as a party that delivers economic development, secures territorial integrity and promotes cultural heritage. Today the CCP's slogan is "Harmonious Society", which is said to be dependent on "social stability". According to Madsen, "In religious affairs at least, the approach now seems to be more indebted to the great Ming and Qing emperors than to Mao Zedong." As such, "The history of China's rulers in protecting and promoting China's cultural heritage thus becomes a more fundamental basis for religious policy than Marxian theory."
Madsen continues: "In its new incarnation, the supposedly secular Party assumes a sacred aura. It now presents itself as the carrier of a sacred national destiny. It carries out spectacular public rituals like the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics - ceremonies which powerfully evoked the glorious cultural heritage of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism but gave no mention at all to Mao Zedong or even to socialism."
And as Madsen so rightly notes: "This can lead to new patterns of religious tolerance and repression. [. . .] Christian communities are . . . problematic, because they practice a foreign religion, not part of the Chinese cultural heritage. But as long as they thoroughly indigenize-which in practice means that they accept the principle that the government is the master, religion the follower-they can be accepted." For the truly globalised religions, however, this is particularly problematic.
As China develops, it wants to export its cultural heritage. But, as Madsen notes, the kind of religion that China wants to export "is one deeply embedded in Han Chinese culture, whose elites in the past have been willing to follow the 'government master, religion follower' formula, and which celebrates the glories of Han Chinese ethnicity. [. . .] Thus, Christianity, Islam, and Tibetan Buddhism pose severe challenges to a neo-imperial sacral hegemony."
[. . .]
"Protestant Christianity in China is much more decentralized [than Roman Catholicism], and does not pose the threat of an authoritarian ecclesiastical power attempting to impose its version of orthodoxy on Chinese believers. But as a global faith, it too is open to influence spread through modern media (and often carried directly by modern missionaries) from around the world. However indigenized Protestant Christianity becomes in China, it will remain in communication with-and be subject to-influence by spiritual movements from abroad. A completely secular liberal government would not have much problem with such cosmopolitan religious influence. But a government that claims a modern Mandate of Heaven in principle could not tolerate such influence. The outlook is that the Chinese ruling party will try to restrict the spread of Christianity while actually encouraging the revival of much of its indigenous folk religion-but the restrictions will not likely be effective and the growth of Christianity will continue to cause controversy among the Chinese elite, and the result will be seemingly arbitrary, incoherent policies toward Christianity."
[. . .]
Madsen concludes: "The one way to keep universalizing global religious movements from undermining [CCP] policy is for China to become so powerful that it can set the terms of its relationship with the rest of world, or at least in Asia. Then it could use its military and economic might to enforce its claim that universal standards of religious freedom do not apply to China and that universal religions can only enter China if they accept the principle of government master, religion follower. Some political leaders think that they can accomplish this."
---------------
Madsen's conclusions are identical to my own. In fact, there has already been a marked increase in persecution since August 2008 when the global economy collapsed, stripping the US International Freedom from Religious Persecution Act (1998) of its economic leverage.
The Templeton Lecture on Religion and World Affairs
Back to the Future: Pre-modern Religious Policy in Post-Secular China
By Richard Madsen. 15 March 2010
http://www.fpri.org/enotes/201003.madsen.postsecularchina.html
FPRI introduces Richard Madsen as: "the Distinguished Professor & Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author or co-author of eleven books on Chinese culture, American culture, and international relations."
What I offer here is a mere summary of Madsen's main arguments and observations concerning Chinese Communist Party's religious policy and its implications for the Chinese Protestants. Anyone interested in truly understanding the evolution of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) policy on religion, should read Madsen's whole paper for themselves.
Madsen notes that the Chinese government's policy on religion has been based on the secularisation theory that religion will eventually die out, becoming irrelevant as modernisation advances. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that religion is not dying out and is even growing and dynamically evolving and reviving. According to Madsen, "Many social scientists are now saying that the secularization thesis is wrong and that we need a post-secularist social theory to account for the empirically obvious facts of the early twenty-first century. Religious belief and practice have not faded away, and in many parts of the world they are playing a more obvious role in public life than in the past century."
Madsen provides a detailed and insightful look at: "CCP Policy Towards Religion", and "Religion in China Today", concluding that the theoretical categories the CCP has long used to define religion and determine the difference between religion and superstition are simply no longer applicable. "The secularist assumptions behind the government's religious policy-that religion will gradually and inevitably, if not as quickly as once believed, fade away-are untenable."
"As a result the policy itself-which aims to constrain the growth of religion, to confine it to the private sphere, and to keep it from affecting politics and ethnic relations-has utterly failed, even on its own terms. Despite all efforts to control its growth, religion has grown rapidly and overwhelmed China's systems for surveillance and control. Clumsy methods of suppressing unwanted forms of religion have actually intensified religiously inspired conflict with the state. The attempt to disconnect religion from ethnic conflict has only added religious zeal to ethnic struggle. The failure is obvious enough that the leadership of the Communist Party has begun to recognize it and is searching for a new approach to religious policy."
Then under the heading: "Groping Toward a New Policy", Madsen provides an insightful analysis of evolving CCP policy. The trends he examines are trends I have been monitoring for over a decade.
Madsen notes the establishment of the public security forces, a secret police organisation which bypasses the state criminal justice system and reports directly to the CCP leadership. "Although originally developed [in 1999] to destroy an 'evil cult,' [Falungong] it has extended its reach to cover political dissidents and other threats to Party domination. The expanded organization has recently been given a new name-the 'Harmonious Society Security Office'.
"Initiatives toward increased tolerance of some religious activities are joined with new methods of repression toward others. There does not seem to be much central coordination of these separate developments, and they separately develop at their own pace according to the ambitions of the various bureaucratic units that were their source. Recognizing the incoherence of its ad hoc policies, the Party is looking for a new theoretical framework to guide its approach toward religion. The framework seems to be heading back to the future, away from a modernist Marxist version of secularism and toward a modernized version of Imperial China's sacral hegemony."
Concerning this New Imperial Sacral Hegemony, Madsen writes that historically, the Emperor, as the 'Son of Heaven', was mandated to mediate between heaven and earth. The Emperor differentiated between right religious practise and false (mythical/superstitious) religious practice. Often it was the case that for religious practice to be defined as right and true, it merely had to bolster social stability under imperial rule. Emperors controlled large communities by means of imperial patronage, and institutions and leaders would be rewarded for their loyalty.
"However," writes Madsen, "sectarian organizations that gathered people together from many different communities, contravened gender distinctions by allowing men and women to worship together as equals, preached an imminent end to the present era, and sometimes became the organizational basis for rebellion-such organizations might be labeled heterodox and persecuted strongly."
[. . .]
"As noted in a recent paper by Zhuo Xinping, the director of the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Science, the basic principle of imperial policy toward religion was that 'the government is the master, religion the follower (zhengzhu, jiaocong)'."
As Madsen notes, in recent years the CCP has moved to rebrand itself. No longer does the CCP promote itself as a party of revolution, but as a party that delivers economic development, secures territorial integrity and promotes cultural heritage. Today the CCP's slogan is "Harmonious Society", which is said to be dependent on "social stability". According to Madsen, "In religious affairs at least, the approach now seems to be more indebted to the great Ming and Qing emperors than to Mao Zedong." As such, "The history of China's rulers in protecting and promoting China's cultural heritage thus becomes a more fundamental basis for religious policy than Marxian theory."
Madsen continues: "In its new incarnation, the supposedly secular Party assumes a sacred aura. It now presents itself as the carrier of a sacred national destiny. It carries out spectacular public rituals like the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics - ceremonies which powerfully evoked the glorious cultural heritage of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism but gave no mention at all to Mao Zedong or even to socialism."
And as Madsen so rightly notes: "This can lead to new patterns of religious tolerance and repression. [. . .] Christian communities are . . . problematic, because they practice a foreign religion, not part of the Chinese cultural heritage. But as long as they thoroughly indigenize-which in practice means that they accept the principle that the government is the master, religion the follower-they can be accepted." For the truly globalised religions, however, this is particularly problematic.
As China develops, it wants to export its cultural heritage. But, as Madsen notes, the kind of religion that China wants to export "is one deeply embedded in Han Chinese culture, whose elites in the past have been willing to follow the 'government master, religion follower' formula, and which celebrates the glories of Han Chinese ethnicity. [. . .] Thus, Christianity, Islam, and Tibetan Buddhism pose severe challenges to a neo-imperial sacral hegemony."
[. . .]
"Protestant Christianity in China is much more decentralized [than Roman Catholicism], and does not pose the threat of an authoritarian ecclesiastical power attempting to impose its version of orthodoxy on Chinese believers. But as a global faith, it too is open to influence spread through modern media (and often carried directly by modern missionaries) from around the world. However indigenized Protestant Christianity becomes in China, it will remain in communication with-and be subject to-influence by spiritual movements from abroad. A completely secular liberal government would not have much problem with such cosmopolitan religious influence. But a government that claims a modern Mandate of Heaven in principle could not tolerate such influence. The outlook is that the Chinese ruling party will try to restrict the spread of Christianity while actually encouraging the revival of much of its indigenous folk religion-but the restrictions will not likely be effective and the growth of Christianity will continue to cause controversy among the Chinese elite, and the result will be seemingly arbitrary, incoherent policies toward Christianity."
[. . .]
Madsen concludes: "The one way to keep universalizing global religious movements from undermining [CCP] policy is for China to become so powerful that it can set the terms of its relationship with the rest of world, or at least in Asia. Then it could use its military and economic might to enforce its claim that universal standards of religious freedom do not apply to China and that universal religions can only enter China if they accept the principle of government master, religion follower. Some political leaders think that they can accomplish this."
---------------
Madsen's conclusions are identical to my own. In fact, there has already been a marked increase in persecution since August 2008 when the global economy collapsed, stripping the US International Freedom from Religious Persecution Act (1998) of its economic leverage.
Friday, September 26, 2008
GOVT BELLIGERENCE ESCALATES AGAINST HANOI CATHOLICS
Date: Friday 26 September 2008
Subj: Vietnam: Govt belligerence escalates against Hanoi Catholics.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
Twelve months ago the world's media was transfixed by the sight of thousands of courageous, marching, anti-junta Buddhist monks in Rangoon, Burma. It has been both astounding therefore and sad that the largest public demonstrations to occur in Vietnam since the Communists took power have attracted only the most minimal attention. But the Hanoi demonstrations, which are taking the form of mass prayer vigils attended by candle, cross and flower-holding, singing, praying Catholics, are immensely significant. So WEA RLC will be following the situation, which is escalating week by week.
This posting updates the posting of 16 September 2008 entitled –
"Vietnam: Prayer vigils push government to breaking point."
As previously reported: "The prayer vigils are pushing the government to breaking point. But will they result in a breakthrough in Church-State relations, or an escalation in violent repression?
"The situation is not looking good. The government appears to be closing the door on dialogue, police are being deployed and the State-run media are describing the main prayer vigil in Thai Ha as an 'organisational crime' plotted by 'hostile forces' against the communist government."
--------------------------------------------
UPDATE: GOVERNMENT BELLIGERENCE ESCALATES
--------------------------------------------
GOVT ORDERS DEMOLITION OF FORMER VATICAN EMBASSY IN HANOI
VietCatholic News Agency reports: "Eight months after promising to restore Church ownership of a building that once housed the office of the apostolic nuncio in Hanoi, Vietnamese authorities have suddenly begun demolishing the building, provoking the outrage of Catholic protesters and drawing a heated protest from the city's archbishop.
"Very early [4 am] on Friday morning, 19 September, hundreds of police assembled in front of the archbishop's residence in Hanoi, blocking access to the residence, the cathedral, and all roads leading to the nearby nunciature. Dozens of bulldozers moved into the area and began digging out the lawn of the nunciature. At 6 am, after police and demolition workers were in place, state-controlled television and radio broadcasts announced that the government had decided to demolish the building, to convert the land into a public playground." (Full report: link 1)
The betrayal and the demolition carry an implied threat: "This is what happens when you push us too far!"
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN HANOI'S CATHOLICS ARE PUSHED TOO FAR?
10,000 TURN OUT TO PRAY
-- largest public demonstrations since Communists came to power.
VietCatholic News Agency reports (with great photos): "The Sunday [21 Sep] morning protest of Catholics on the streets of Hanoi was probably the largest so far after the Communist takeover in 1954. A bishop and hundreds of priests led more than ten thousand of protesters praying at the nunciature before an open altar set up at the middle of the street." (Link 2)
While police turned back many busloads of worshippers, an estimated 10,000 managed to make it to the site where they braved the rain, heavy police presence, attack dogs and barbed wire to pray for justice and worship the Lord as the bells of St Joseph's Cathedral next door chimed intermittently.
Some 5,000 candle-bearing Catholics also turned out at the former nunciature on the Saturday night. "A student from Hanoi university said: 'I was here last night with at least 5,000 people. I prayed with them until very late. I had just gone home to take a sleep then return here with people. We were very upset with the way this government handle the issue.'
"'My hope [for the return of the nunciature] is gone, but my belief in God is unshaken,' said Phuong Nguyen, another girl at early twenties. 'Last February, we halted the protests out of the trust in them. However, they managed to delay returning the property through various bureaucratic manoeuvres. Then, all in a sudden, they announced to demolish for a playground and immediately carried out their plan with the support of their armed forces. How can we still trust them?' she asked." (Link 2)
MEDIA UNDER FIRE
Associated Press journalist Ben Stocking was covering the story at the former nunciature on Friday morning 19 September when he was violently assaulted by police and temporarily detained. "He [Stocking] reported that he had been choked, punched and bashed with his own camera -- the last assault opening a cut in his scalp that bled profusely. After his 2 1/2 hours in detention, he immediately had to seek treatment at a private clinic for the head injury." (Link 3)
The Vietnamese authorities however deny that Stocking was beaten and maintain that he was arrested for breaking the law. Eye witnesses (including an unknown person who filmed Stocking's removal and posted it on YouTube) maintain that Stocking was openly standing beside police and taking photos without any problems. He offered no resistance when asked to move away, but was later put into a chokehold and beaten. On Monday 22 September Stocking was summoned to the foreign ministry where he was issued a warning. Vietnamese media reported that the ministry was contemplating further action, particularly against Stocking's "slander" that security forces had beaten him. (Link 4)
ARCHBISHOP AND FOUR PRIESTS UNDER FIRE
On Tuesday 23 September Ben Stocking reported from Hanoi: "Communist authorities in Hanoi have threatened to take legal action against the city's archbishop unless he immediately disbands illegal prayer vigils to demand the return of former church lands, state media reported Monday.
"The government campaign against Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet escalated over the weekend, with state television calling into question his patriotism in an apparent attempt to turn public opinion against him." (Link 5)
According to State-run media: "The Hanoi People's Committee's communique accuses Kiet of directly inciting and encouraging violations of land-related laws." Furthermore, the authorities claim Hanoians will support the disciplining of the Archbishop. (Link 6)
However, as Stocking reports, the threats extend beyond the Archbishop. Four priests involved in the prayer vigils at the Thai Ha site also received official warnings. The BBC reports: "The archbishop and priests are accused of 'stirring the population' and encouraging illegal religious activity." (Link 7)
According to State-run media, the priests have "organised illegal religious activities on the occupied land, disturbing security, and social order in the area. For those acts, the Hanoi Mayor issues a warning against Vu Khoi Phung, the priest in charge of the Thai Ha parish and three priests, including Nguyen Van Khai, Nguyen Van That and Nguyen Ngoc Nam Phong and demands them immediately stop those law violations, otherwise, they will be treated in line with the law." (Link 8)
The priests have been ordered to remove religious symbols from the site and stop disseminating false information and holding illegal gatherings. The authorities have ordered the crowds to "refrain from extremist actions".
CHURCH UNDER FIRE
In the past week the two main prayer vigil sites -- the Thai Ha Redemptorist monastery and the former nunciature -- have both been attacked by large gangs of pro-government vigilantes. The gangs dress in the blue shirts of the Youth Communist League.
On Friday 19 September at around 1 am a pro-government gang attacked the Thai Ha chapel, ransacking the altar and vandalising church property. Then at around 11.20 pm on Sunday 21 September a 200-strong gang surrounded the monastery and attempted to gain access, smashing everything in their way. "In what one priest called a 'sort of terrorism' against the Catholic faithful, the gang ransacked the building, destroying statues and books while shouting threats against the lives of clergy and religious, Catholic faithful, and the Archbishop of Hanoi." (Link 9)
In each case, the police did not intervene.
Then at 4 pm on Thursday 25 September a gang attacked the former nunciature. "Hundreds of Catholic protesters seeking the return of a former papal nunciature confiscated by the communist government were attacked on Thursday afternoon in a confrontation with youths, military veterans, and members of other communist associations.
"The pro-government gang chased protesters from the area and then gathered at the gate of the Archbishop of Hanoi's office, yelling communist slogans and calling for the head of the archbishop, whom they accused of treason." (Link 10)
According to VietCatholic News Agency the militants, who far outnumbered the Catholic protesters, were delivered to the site by State-owned buses. While the priests took cover in the church offices, the police watched as the mob destroyed the cross that worshippers had erected at the site in January. According to reports, some police even joined in the anti-Catholic rampage. (Link 11)
CHILDREN UNDER FIRE
It has also been reported that the People's Committee of Thanh Oai district has ordered school teachers to monitor their students to see who is attending the prayer vigils at the Thai Ha site. VietCatholic News Agency reports that teachers "can be seen in Thai Ha everyday looking for their students, forcing them to go home, and threatening them with severe punishments including expulsion from the school.
"Most teachers feel reluctant to become persecutors against their students. But, some seem to see it a perfect chance to carry out their anti-Catholicism ideology. Two year 7 Catholic students from Thach Bich, known as Huong and Quynh, told their parents they were forced by their teachers to stand in front of their classmates to be mocked. The 'humiliation session' had dragged for hours until the two 11-year-old children promised not to go to the church again.
"Teachers in Bich Hoa high school, out of the fear of losing their promotion and pay rise, asked all Catholic students to pledge in writing not to follow their parents to Thai Ha. In addition, non-Catholic students were ordered to report the presence of their Catholic classmates at the site.
"Catholic students from Hanoi universities face even more threats. 'We have been repeatedly warned not to go to Thai Ha. We face expulsion and arrest for joining protesters,' said an architect student, who has requested anonymity for his own safety. 'We just come here to pray. We do nothing wrong. We have no weapons and no political ambition. Why they fear us?' he asked." (Link 12)
By Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) Tensions boil over in Hanoi as government betrays promise, destroys nunciature.
19 Sep 2008 http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58740.htm .
Hanoi Archbishop protests government's expropriation and destruction of former nunciature. 19Sept2008 http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58779.htm
ALSO
BBC. Bulldozers stoke Hanoi land clash
By Nga Pham, 19 Sep 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7625393.stm
2) Huge protest on Sunday morning at the nunciature. 21 Sept2008
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58880.htm
3) Vietnam alleges beaten AP photographer broke law. 19 Sep 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gFaTmVF3wvSPYOpCO8AJauwPyMiwD93AP9K00
ALSO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTnukD8uYW4
4) Vietnam summons US journalist over protest coverage. 23 Sep 2008 http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ism9NiNQ2MjlI8eQykV7svM8hzog
5) Hanoi: Church must end vigils or face legal action
Ben Stocking in Hanoi, 23 Sep 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jQVjwqiv1eWVsGsnLajOkLkZNAGAD93BSLJ80
6) Hanoi archbishop told to desist from further law violations
http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/?catid=1&newsid=42245
Hanoi City has issued a written warning to Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet of the Hanoi Archdiocese asking him to refrain from disseminating false information and inciting priests and people to take part in illegal activities.
ALSO
Hanoians in support of disciplining Archbishop. 24 Sep 2008
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2008/09/805253/
Voters have agreed with a decision made by the Hanoi People's Committee to discipline municipal Church Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet and several other priests in line with national law.
7) Vietnam warns priests over land
By Nga Pham, BBC News, 23 Sep 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7632095.stm
8) Hanoi warns Thai Ha priests for law breaches. 23 Sep 2008
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/politics/2008/09/805063/
9) Vietnamese gang ransacks Catholic chapel as police stand by. 22 Sep 2008
http://catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13865
10) Pro-government mob attacks Catholic demonstrators in Hanoi. 25 Sep 2008
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13899
11) Communist gang attack Hanoi archbishop's office. 25 Sep 2008
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/59162.htm
12) Vietnam: Catholic students mocked at school. 18 Sep 2008
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58665.htm
Subj: Vietnam: Govt belligerence escalates against Hanoi Catholics.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
Twelve months ago the world's media was transfixed by the sight of thousands of courageous, marching, anti-junta Buddhist monks in Rangoon, Burma. It has been both astounding therefore and sad that the largest public demonstrations to occur in Vietnam since the Communists took power have attracted only the most minimal attention. But the Hanoi demonstrations, which are taking the form of mass prayer vigils attended by candle, cross and flower-holding, singing, praying Catholics, are immensely significant. So WEA RLC will be following the situation, which is escalating week by week.
This posting updates the posting of 16 September 2008 entitled –
"Vietnam: Prayer vigils push government to breaking point."
As previously reported: "The prayer vigils are pushing the government to breaking point. But will they result in a breakthrough in Church-State relations, or an escalation in violent repression?
"The situation is not looking good. The government appears to be closing the door on dialogue, police are being deployed and the State-run media are describing the main prayer vigil in Thai Ha as an 'organisational crime' plotted by 'hostile forces' against the communist government."
--------------------------------------------
UPDATE: GOVERNMENT BELLIGERENCE ESCALATES
--------------------------------------------
GOVT ORDERS DEMOLITION OF FORMER VATICAN EMBASSY IN HANOI
VietCatholic News Agency reports: "Eight months after promising to restore Church ownership of a building that once housed the office of the apostolic nuncio in Hanoi, Vietnamese authorities have suddenly begun demolishing the building, provoking the outrage of Catholic protesters and drawing a heated protest from the city's archbishop.
"Very early [4 am] on Friday morning, 19 September, hundreds of police assembled in front of the archbishop's residence in Hanoi, blocking access to the residence, the cathedral, and all roads leading to the nearby nunciature. Dozens of bulldozers moved into the area and began digging out the lawn of the nunciature. At 6 am, after police and demolition workers were in place, state-controlled television and radio broadcasts announced that the government had decided to demolish the building, to convert the land into a public playground." (Full report: link 1)
The betrayal and the demolition carry an implied threat: "This is what happens when you push us too far!"
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN HANOI'S CATHOLICS ARE PUSHED TOO FAR?
10,000 TURN OUT TO PRAY
-- largest public demonstrations since Communists came to power.
VietCatholic News Agency reports (with great photos): "The Sunday [21 Sep] morning protest of Catholics on the streets of Hanoi was probably the largest so far after the Communist takeover in 1954. A bishop and hundreds of priests led more than ten thousand of protesters praying at the nunciature before an open altar set up at the middle of the street." (Link 2)
While police turned back many busloads of worshippers, an estimated 10,000 managed to make it to the site where they braved the rain, heavy police presence, attack dogs and barbed wire to pray for justice and worship the Lord as the bells of St Joseph's Cathedral next door chimed intermittently.
Some 5,000 candle-bearing Catholics also turned out at the former nunciature on the Saturday night. "A student from Hanoi university said: 'I was here last night with at least 5,000 people. I prayed with them until very late. I had just gone home to take a sleep then return here with people. We were very upset with the way this government handle the issue.'
"'My hope [for the return of the nunciature] is gone, but my belief in God is unshaken,' said Phuong Nguyen, another girl at early twenties. 'Last February, we halted the protests out of the trust in them. However, they managed to delay returning the property through various bureaucratic manoeuvres. Then, all in a sudden, they announced to demolish for a playground and immediately carried out their plan with the support of their armed forces. How can we still trust them?' she asked." (Link 2)
MEDIA UNDER FIRE
Associated Press journalist Ben Stocking was covering the story at the former nunciature on Friday morning 19 September when he was violently assaulted by police and temporarily detained. "He [Stocking] reported that he had been choked, punched and bashed with his own camera -- the last assault opening a cut in his scalp that bled profusely. After his 2 1/2 hours in detention, he immediately had to seek treatment at a private clinic for the head injury." (Link 3)
The Vietnamese authorities however deny that Stocking was beaten and maintain that he was arrested for breaking the law. Eye witnesses (including an unknown person who filmed Stocking's removal and posted it on YouTube) maintain that Stocking was openly standing beside police and taking photos without any problems. He offered no resistance when asked to move away, but was later put into a chokehold and beaten. On Monday 22 September Stocking was summoned to the foreign ministry where he was issued a warning. Vietnamese media reported that the ministry was contemplating further action, particularly against Stocking's "slander" that security forces had beaten him. (Link 4)
ARCHBISHOP AND FOUR PRIESTS UNDER FIRE
On Tuesday 23 September Ben Stocking reported from Hanoi: "Communist authorities in Hanoi have threatened to take legal action against the city's archbishop unless he immediately disbands illegal prayer vigils to demand the return of former church lands, state media reported Monday.
"The government campaign against Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet escalated over the weekend, with state television calling into question his patriotism in an apparent attempt to turn public opinion against him." (Link 5)
According to State-run media: "The Hanoi People's Committee's communique accuses Kiet of directly inciting and encouraging violations of land-related laws." Furthermore, the authorities claim Hanoians will support the disciplining of the Archbishop. (Link 6)
However, as Stocking reports, the threats extend beyond the Archbishop. Four priests involved in the prayer vigils at the Thai Ha site also received official warnings. The BBC reports: "The archbishop and priests are accused of 'stirring the population' and encouraging illegal religious activity." (Link 7)
According to State-run media, the priests have "organised illegal religious activities on the occupied land, disturbing security, and social order in the area. For those acts, the Hanoi Mayor issues a warning against Vu Khoi Phung, the priest in charge of the Thai Ha parish and three priests, including Nguyen Van Khai, Nguyen Van That and Nguyen Ngoc Nam Phong and demands them immediately stop those law violations, otherwise, they will be treated in line with the law." (Link 8)
The priests have been ordered to remove religious symbols from the site and stop disseminating false information and holding illegal gatherings. The authorities have ordered the crowds to "refrain from extremist actions".
CHURCH UNDER FIRE
In the past week the two main prayer vigil sites -- the Thai Ha Redemptorist monastery and the former nunciature -- have both been attacked by large gangs of pro-government vigilantes. The gangs dress in the blue shirts of the Youth Communist League.
On Friday 19 September at around 1 am a pro-government gang attacked the Thai Ha chapel, ransacking the altar and vandalising church property. Then at around 11.20 pm on Sunday 21 September a 200-strong gang surrounded the monastery and attempted to gain access, smashing everything in their way. "In what one priest called a 'sort of terrorism' against the Catholic faithful, the gang ransacked the building, destroying statues and books while shouting threats against the lives of clergy and religious, Catholic faithful, and the Archbishop of Hanoi." (Link 9)
In each case, the police did not intervene.
Then at 4 pm on Thursday 25 September a gang attacked the former nunciature. "Hundreds of Catholic protesters seeking the return of a former papal nunciature confiscated by the communist government were attacked on Thursday afternoon in a confrontation with youths, military veterans, and members of other communist associations.
"The pro-government gang chased protesters from the area and then gathered at the gate of the Archbishop of Hanoi's office, yelling communist slogans and calling for the head of the archbishop, whom they accused of treason." (Link 10)
According to VietCatholic News Agency the militants, who far outnumbered the Catholic protesters, were delivered to the site by State-owned buses. While the priests took cover in the church offices, the police watched as the mob destroyed the cross that worshippers had erected at the site in January. According to reports, some police even joined in the anti-Catholic rampage. (Link 11)
CHILDREN UNDER FIRE
It has also been reported that the People's Committee of Thanh Oai district has ordered school teachers to monitor their students to see who is attending the prayer vigils at the Thai Ha site. VietCatholic News Agency reports that teachers "can be seen in Thai Ha everyday looking for their students, forcing them to go home, and threatening them with severe punishments including expulsion from the school.
"Most teachers feel reluctant to become persecutors against their students. But, some seem to see it a perfect chance to carry out their anti-Catholicism ideology. Two year 7 Catholic students from Thach Bich, known as Huong and Quynh, told their parents they were forced by their teachers to stand in front of their classmates to be mocked. The 'humiliation session' had dragged for hours until the two 11-year-old children promised not to go to the church again.
"Teachers in Bich Hoa high school, out of the fear of losing their promotion and pay rise, asked all Catholic students to pledge in writing not to follow their parents to Thai Ha. In addition, non-Catholic students were ordered to report the presence of their Catholic classmates at the site.
"Catholic students from Hanoi universities face even more threats. 'We have been repeatedly warned not to go to Thai Ha. We face expulsion and arrest for joining protesters,' said an architect student, who has requested anonymity for his own safety. 'We just come here to pray. We do nothing wrong. We have no weapons and no political ambition. Why they fear us?' he asked." (Link 12)
By Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) Tensions boil over in Hanoi as government betrays promise, destroys nunciature.
19 Sep 2008 http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58740.htm .
Hanoi Archbishop protests government's expropriation and destruction of former nunciature. 19Sept2008 http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58779.htm
ALSO
BBC. Bulldozers stoke Hanoi land clash
By Nga Pham, 19 Sep 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7625393.stm
2) Huge protest on Sunday morning at the nunciature. 21 Sept2008
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58880.htm
3) Vietnam alleges beaten AP photographer broke law. 19 Sep 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gFaTmVF3wvSPYOpCO8AJauwPyMiwD93AP9K00
ALSO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTnukD8uYW4
4) Vietnam summons US journalist over protest coverage. 23 Sep 2008 http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ism9NiNQ2MjlI8eQykV7svM8hzog
5) Hanoi: Church must end vigils or face legal action
Ben Stocking in Hanoi, 23 Sep 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jQVjwqiv1eWVsGsnLajOkLkZNAGAD93BSLJ80
6) Hanoi archbishop told to desist from further law violations
http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/?catid=1&newsid=42245
Hanoi City has issued a written warning to Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet of the Hanoi Archdiocese asking him to refrain from disseminating false information and inciting priests and people to take part in illegal activities.
ALSO
Hanoians in support of disciplining Archbishop. 24 Sep 2008
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2008/09/805253/
Voters have agreed with a decision made by the Hanoi People's Committee to discipline municipal Church Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet and several other priests in line with national law.
7) Vietnam warns priests over land
By Nga Pham, BBC News, 23 Sep 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7632095.stm
8) Hanoi warns Thai Ha priests for law breaches. 23 Sep 2008
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/politics/2008/09/805063/
9) Vietnamese gang ransacks Catholic chapel as police stand by. 22 Sep 2008
http://catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13865
10) Pro-government mob attacks Catholic demonstrators in Hanoi. 25 Sep 2008
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=13899
11) Communist gang attack Hanoi archbishop's office. 25 Sep 2008
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/59162.htm
12) Vietnam: Catholic students mocked at school. 18 Sep 2008
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58665.htm
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
PRAYER VIGILS PUSH GOVERNMENT TO BREAKING POINT
Date: Tuesday 16 September 2008
Subj: Vietnam: Prayer vigils push government to breaking point.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
Vietnam's Protestant and Catholic churches have long sought the return of properties seized by the Communist authorities since they came to power. In the north the confiscations date back to the 1950's, while in the south they date back to 1975.
For years the church's petitions have been rejected and ignored. Occasionally however the government will offer minimalist appeasement in the hope of silencing Christian leaders and satisfying international observers. However, these "gifts" are then followed by more property confiscations and demolitions, leaving the church feeling frustrated and discouraged.
But things have changed and a new wind is blowing. Many Vietnamese are seeing something they have never seen before. In late December 2007, thousands of Catholics in Hanoi rallied publicly -- armed with flowers, crosses and candles -- to pray for the return of church land and property.
On 28 March 2008 the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) (ECV(S)) issued a petition not this time to the government, but to the global body of Christ seeking prayer support in their struggle with the Communist authorities over property, interference and discrimination. That petition: "A Call to Prayer -- To the Church of God Everywhere", can be found at Link 1.
A Spirit of prayer seems to have descended upon the Vietnamese Church giving the believers courage, drive and a determination never before seen -- and the government is clearly rattled.
As the Catholic prayer vigils grow and spread, Vietnam's Communist government is working overtime to discredit the churches and their leaders and justify its own intransigence and hostility through disinformation and slander disseminated through the State-run media.
But despite the slander, police violence, threats of arrest, "extreme actions" and an imminent crackdown, the protests continue day and night in all weather and with growing numbers.
The prayer vigils are pushing the government to breaking point. But will they result in a breakthrough in Church-State relations, or an escalation in violent repression?
The situation is not looking good. The government appears to be closing the door on dialogue, police are being deployed and the State-run media are describing the main prayer vigil in Thai Ha as an "organisational crime" plotted by "hostile forces" against the communist government. (Link 2)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEEKING THE RETURN OF CONFISCATED PROPERTIES
The Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) (ECV(S)) petitioned the government three times during 2007 concerning discrimination, government interference in church affairs, and the status of the 265 ECV(S) properties the Communist authorities have seized since 1975 -- but to no avail. The government did actually return a few small properties for appeasement sake but then in November and December of 2007 demolished two more ECV(S) properties.
On 15 December 2007 the Catholic Archbishop of Hanoi, Joseph Ngo Quan Kiet, requested the government restore to the church the building that served as the Vatican ambassador's residence in Hanoi during the 1950s. The Communist authorities requisitioned the building in 1959, and it subsequently came to be used as a restaurant.
Sandro Magister describes what happened next: "Last December 15, the archbishop of Hanoi, Joseph Ngo Quan Kiet, asked for the building to be given back, and called upon the faithful to pray that justice be done.
"The faithful took him at his word. Since December 18, every evening, they have gathered in front of the fence outside the former nunciature, praying and carrying flowers and candles. On Christmas Eve, there were 5,000 of them.
"On December 30, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung came among them. Pushing through the crowd, he entered the archbishop's residence, where he spent fifteen minutes meeting with Archbishop Ngo Quan Kiet. As he left, he was applauded.
"But the protest did not die out. On the contrary, it expanded to other areas of the city.
"On January 6, the Christian feast of the Epiphany, the faithful of the parish of Thai Ha, in Hanoi, began to demonstrate to ask for the restitution of land and buildings confiscated by the regime [from the Redemptorist Order], and now occupied by various government offices and a factory . . .
"On January 12, in Ho Chi Minh City, thousands of faithful took to the streets for a vigil of solidarity with the faithful of Hanoi. The superior of the Redemptorists, Fr Joseph Cao Dinh Tri, appealed in a message to the ruling 379/TTG, which requires the authorities to give back to their owners the goods and lands confiscated over time, if these are no longer necessary to the government for critical purposes. He also recalled the ordinance PL-UBTVQH11 of 2004, which states: 'The legal ownership of sites of religious interest is protected by the law: any violation is prohibited.'
"During those same days, the faithful of the city of Ha Dong, about 25 miles south of Hanoi, also begin demonstrating peacefully for the restitution of a building confiscated from a parish.
"On January 24, a government delegation returned to meet the archbishop of Hanoi. During those same hours, groups of faithful broke through into the garden of the former nunciature, planting a cross there before they were removed by the police . . ." (Link 3)
Sandro Magister goes on to list subsequent meetings between Catholic leaders and government officials that eventually culminated in the 27 February statement by the Patriot Front Official for Religious Affairs who declared that the government can no longer ignore the legitimate request for the former nunciature to be restored to the church.
The Catholics, however, were not appeased and the prayer vigils have continued and spread. As Magister reports (May 2008): "Since March 17, in Ho Chi Minh City, hundreds of sisters and faithful have met every day to pray in front of a building taken away from the sisters of the charitable order 'Vinh Son', in the past turned into a bordello and now about to be demolished to make room for a hotel.
"On May 20, the protest extended to another city, Vinh Long, in the south of the country. A four-star hotel is supposed to be built in a former orphanage belonging to the sisters of St Paul de Chartres. The orphanage was requisitioned in 1977, and now the bishop, the sisters, and the faithful of the city are demanding to have it back."
Magister reports that on 15 April, the government announcement the restitution of another Catholic property "around the basilica of Le Vang, the main Marian Shrine in Vietnam".
However, as Magister also reported in May 2008, "These announcements have not been followed by actions." Thus the Catholic experience mirrors that of the ECV(S).
Meanwhile, it was on 28 March 2008 that the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) (ECV(S)) issued: "A Call to Prayer -- To the Church of God Everywhere" concerning (amongst other things) the status of its 265 confiscated properties. (Link 1)
But the prayer vigil by Thai Ha Redemptionist parishioners in Hanoi's Dong Da district has recently escalated. Since mid-August, the numbers keeping vigil at the Thai Ha Redemptorist property has escalated dramatically as Catholics from across the country, including numerous bishops, have travelled to Hanoi to participate in the prayer vigil in a show of solidarity, transforming the Thai Ha vigil into something far more intensive and pivotal. The Thai Ha property has come to be symbolic of all contentious Church-State land issues.
The government continues to respond to the prayer vigil/protests by slandering the Catholics in the State-run media, accusing them of "criminal behaviour" including vandalism, asserting that the Catholic Church had once signed the property over to the State and even accusing Hanoi's Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of inciting protests. (Link 4)
Father Stephen Chan Tin, who has participated in the prayer vigils, testifies as an eye witness that they have not involved riotous or criminal behaviour. He reports that the praise and prayer services he attended at the Thai Ha site were "organized in a very reverent and careful manner". He laments the blatant slander issued against the church and has issued an appeal for truth. His paper also examines the Communist ideology that motivates such abuse of and disrespect for humanity and private property. (Link 5)
On Thursday 28 August several Catholics were wounded as riot police attacked the pray-ers/protesters with electric batons. Four Catholics were arrested. Father Nguyen Van Peter Khai told AFP that police had attacked the Catholics as they sat on the street for a peaceful vigil. "'We were in the street on Thai Ha street and the police repressed the Christians using electric shocks,' said Khai. 'A lot of people were beaten by police, they were beaten very hard.' He showed AFP digital photographs showing two women bleeding from head wounds who he said were victims of the police baton-charge."
That evening around 100 Catholics protested outside the headquarters of Dong Da district police, calling for the release of those detained. Three more Catholics were then arrested. (Link 6)
On Sunday 31 August a canister of tear gas was thrown in amongst some 3,000 gathered for worship at the Thai Ha site. Police were present in large numbers, armed with cameras, taking photos of the worshippers/protesters.
On Monday 8 September, the New Hanoi and the People's Police papers published ominous words issued by Lt-General Nguyen Van Huong, Vice-Minister of Public Security and Major-General Nguyen Duc Nhanh, the Director of the Hanoi Police Agency, whereby they warned Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet of Hanoi, along with his priests and faithful, that a crackdown was imminent.
Bishop Francis Nguyen Van Sang of Thai Binh diocese subsequently warned the communist government "not to use the sword". "Using the sword against innocent civilians is shameful, and will be condemned by international public opinion." (Link 7)
VietCatholic News Agency (VNA) reports that after the Saturday 13 September mass at St Joseph Cathedral in Hanoi, thousands of worshippers proceeded to the former nunciature where vigils had been held through January. Police reinforcements were sent to prevent more Catholics from joining the worshippers who "virtually converted the street in front of the building into an open church for hours". (Link 8)
VNA continues: "Trembled by sudden developments at Hanoi nunciature and the influx into the capital of ten thousands of Catholics from northern provinces, hundreds of anti-riot police raided Cua Bac parish at 6 pm local time. A police intelligence unit had reported a protest in the said parish. However, it was not a protest at all. Thousands of faithful gathered at the church to celebrate Mid-Autumn festival for children."
INTERFERENCE AND PLANTED BOGUS PRIESTS
One of the complaints of the ECV(S) mentioned in the Call to Prayer is that of government interference in church affairs causing division and turmoil. Catholics have likewise reported seriously destructive and unwelcome state interference.
Further to this, AsiaNews reported on 9 September: "Some priests have appeared on Vietnamese state TV and have been interviewed by government newspapers speaking out against Thai Ha parishioners who want the restitution of parish property, except that these men of the cloth are neither priests nor Catholic. At least one of them has in fact been identified as a Communist party official. 'They were "ordained" by the government,' was the scathing comment from the diocese of Hanoi." (Link 9)
CRACKDOWN ON THOSE WHO TALK TO OR READ CHRISTIAN MEDIA
Frustrated by its inability to control all media, the government is now threatening action against anyone who talks to or reads Catholic media. JB An Dang reports for Independent Catholic News: "Police in Vietnam have begun inspecting the computers of Catholics who have taken part in the ongoing prayer vigils over confiscated church properties.
"A source in Hanoi said the authorities are closely monitoring overseas reports on the protests. 'You are in serious trouble should your browsing history include Asia-News, Catholic News Agency, Catholic World News, Independent Catholic News, VietCatholic News, Zenit and others,' he warned.
"Plain clothed police are reported to be hunting for Catholic reporters who are keeping the outside world, and those in Vietnam who access to the Internet, informed about the protest.
"One journalist said: 'I was about to send an email when police swamped in. The person next to me had his browsing history inspected. He even was forced to log into his Gmail account for a 'security inspection'." (Link 10)
PERSECUTION, ANGER AND SLANDER MEET PERSEVERANCE, JOY AND GRACE
VietCatholic News reports: "Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of Hanoi and Bishop Peter Nguyen Van De of Bui Chu joined more than two thousands of protesters on Friday afternoon [12 September] when the superior of Thai Ha monastery and some other priests were being 'summoned' by police. 'I know at this time all your priests are summoned, no one stay at home. So I am here to help them doing church keeping,' Archbishop Joseph Ngo joked with protesters.
"Bishop Peter Nguyen, who travelled more than 200 km to join with protesters, also joked with them that state television had repeatedly warned to imprison anyone who dared to be here to pray, especially priests. So he wanted to be here 'out of the fear to be alone outside when all priests are jailed.'" His joke was intensely welcomed by protesters." (Link 11)
On Sunday 14 September, the Catholics of Hanoi followed instructions issued by the Archdioceses on Friday and prayed for God to forgive all those associated with the State media disinformation and slander campaign, as well as those who have issued threats against the church. (Link 11)
By Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) "A Call to Prayer -- To the Church of God Everywhere"
Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) (ECV(S)) 28 March 2008
http://www.worldevangelicals.org/news/view.htm?id=2068
2) Bishop of Thai Binh: Bye-bye my dear people, I will go to the jail.
11 Sept 2008 (great pictures)
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58371.htm
3) The Peaceful Revolution of Vietnam's Catholics.
By Sandro Magister 28 May 2008
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/203701?eng=y
SEE ALSO
Holy row over land in Vietnam. By Nga Pham. 26 Feb 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7262411.stm
AND http://vigiaohoiconggiaovn.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!47BCEBC38CCBF581!763.entry
4) Government sheds light on Thai Ha criminal behaviour. 30 Aug 2008
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=03CAS300808
Hanoi Archbishop accused of inciting protests. 9 Sept 2008
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58264.htm
5) "Communism: The End Justifies the Means."
By Father Stephen Chan Tin (8 August 2008)
http://www.worldevangelicals.org/news/view.htm?id=2065
6) Vietnam arrests four in Catholic land dispute, say protesters. 28 Aug 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hLVcCIxncCRfGBs5hAUwDl2QyTVQ
Catholics rally at Vietnam police station, three detained. 29 Aug 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkF12kTbAUNUQw7IqqgurLIKYS3Q
SEE ALSO: Prayers and protests in Vietnam
By Nga Pham. BBC News, Hanoi, 2 Sep 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7593251.stm
7) Vietnam: Bishop warns the government "not to use the sword" (great pictures) http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58313.htm 10 Sep 2008
8) Thousand of Catholics protest at Hanoi former nunciature, police raid a Hanoi parish. 13 Sept 2008 http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58478.htm
9) False priests appear on Hanoi media to discredit Catholics
By JB An Dang, AsiaNews, 9 Sep 2008
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13170&size=A
10) Vietnamese warned not to read ICN
By JB An Dang, 12 Sep 2008
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/latdang376.html
11) Hanoi Archdiocese to observe day of prayer for state media personnel
(Great pictures) 12 Sep 2008
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58431.htm
Subj: Vietnam: Prayer vigils push government to breaking point.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
Vietnam's Protestant and Catholic churches have long sought the return of properties seized by the Communist authorities since they came to power. In the north the confiscations date back to the 1950's, while in the south they date back to 1975.
For years the church's petitions have been rejected and ignored. Occasionally however the government will offer minimalist appeasement in the hope of silencing Christian leaders and satisfying international observers. However, these "gifts" are then followed by more property confiscations and demolitions, leaving the church feeling frustrated and discouraged.
But things have changed and a new wind is blowing. Many Vietnamese are seeing something they have never seen before. In late December 2007, thousands of Catholics in Hanoi rallied publicly -- armed with flowers, crosses and candles -- to pray for the return of church land and property.
On 28 March 2008 the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) (ECV(S)) issued a petition not this time to the government, but to the global body of Christ seeking prayer support in their struggle with the Communist authorities over property, interference and discrimination. That petition: "A Call to Prayer -- To the Church of God Everywhere", can be found at Link 1.
A Spirit of prayer seems to have descended upon the Vietnamese Church giving the believers courage, drive and a determination never before seen -- and the government is clearly rattled.
As the Catholic prayer vigils grow and spread, Vietnam's Communist government is working overtime to discredit the churches and their leaders and justify its own intransigence and hostility through disinformation and slander disseminated through the State-run media.
But despite the slander, police violence, threats of arrest, "extreme actions" and an imminent crackdown, the protests continue day and night in all weather and with growing numbers.
The prayer vigils are pushing the government to breaking point. But will they result in a breakthrough in Church-State relations, or an escalation in violent repression?
The situation is not looking good. The government appears to be closing the door on dialogue, police are being deployed and the State-run media are describing the main prayer vigil in Thai Ha as an "organisational crime" plotted by "hostile forces" against the communist government. (Link 2)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEEKING THE RETURN OF CONFISCATED PROPERTIES
The Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) (ECV(S)) petitioned the government three times during 2007 concerning discrimination, government interference in church affairs, and the status of the 265 ECV(S) properties the Communist authorities have seized since 1975 -- but to no avail. The government did actually return a few small properties for appeasement sake but then in November and December of 2007 demolished two more ECV(S) properties.
On 15 December 2007 the Catholic Archbishop of Hanoi, Joseph Ngo Quan Kiet, requested the government restore to the church the building that served as the Vatican ambassador's residence in Hanoi during the 1950s. The Communist authorities requisitioned the building in 1959, and it subsequently came to be used as a restaurant.
Sandro Magister describes what happened next: "Last December 15, the archbishop of Hanoi, Joseph Ngo Quan Kiet, asked for the building to be given back, and called upon the faithful to pray that justice be done.
"The faithful took him at his word. Since December 18, every evening, they have gathered in front of the fence outside the former nunciature, praying and carrying flowers and candles. On Christmas Eve, there were 5,000 of them.
"On December 30, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung came among them. Pushing through the crowd, he entered the archbishop's residence, where he spent fifteen minutes meeting with Archbishop Ngo Quan Kiet. As he left, he was applauded.
"But the protest did not die out. On the contrary, it expanded to other areas of the city.
"On January 6, the Christian feast of the Epiphany, the faithful of the parish of Thai Ha, in Hanoi, began to demonstrate to ask for the restitution of land and buildings confiscated by the regime [from the Redemptorist Order], and now occupied by various government offices and a factory . . .
"On January 12, in Ho Chi Minh City, thousands of faithful took to the streets for a vigil of solidarity with the faithful of Hanoi. The superior of the Redemptorists, Fr Joseph Cao Dinh Tri, appealed in a message to the ruling 379/TTG, which requires the authorities to give back to their owners the goods and lands confiscated over time, if these are no longer necessary to the government for critical purposes. He also recalled the ordinance PL-UBTVQH11 of 2004, which states: 'The legal ownership of sites of religious interest is protected by the law: any violation is prohibited.'
"During those same days, the faithful of the city of Ha Dong, about 25 miles south of Hanoi, also begin demonstrating peacefully for the restitution of a building confiscated from a parish.
"On January 24, a government delegation returned to meet the archbishop of Hanoi. During those same hours, groups of faithful broke through into the garden of the former nunciature, planting a cross there before they were removed by the police . . ." (Link 3)
Sandro Magister goes on to list subsequent meetings between Catholic leaders and government officials that eventually culminated in the 27 February statement by the Patriot Front Official for Religious Affairs who declared that the government can no longer ignore the legitimate request for the former nunciature to be restored to the church.
The Catholics, however, were not appeased and the prayer vigils have continued and spread. As Magister reports (May 2008): "Since March 17, in Ho Chi Minh City, hundreds of sisters and faithful have met every day to pray in front of a building taken away from the sisters of the charitable order 'Vinh Son', in the past turned into a bordello and now about to be demolished to make room for a hotel.
"On May 20, the protest extended to another city, Vinh Long, in the south of the country. A four-star hotel is supposed to be built in a former orphanage belonging to the sisters of St Paul de Chartres. The orphanage was requisitioned in 1977, and now the bishop, the sisters, and the faithful of the city are demanding to have it back."
Magister reports that on 15 April, the government announcement the restitution of another Catholic property "around the basilica of Le Vang, the main Marian Shrine in Vietnam".
However, as Magister also reported in May 2008, "These announcements have not been followed by actions." Thus the Catholic experience mirrors that of the ECV(S).
Meanwhile, it was on 28 March 2008 that the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) (ECV(S)) issued: "A Call to Prayer -- To the Church of God Everywhere" concerning (amongst other things) the status of its 265 confiscated properties. (Link 1)
But the prayer vigil by Thai Ha Redemptionist parishioners in Hanoi's Dong Da district has recently escalated. Since mid-August, the numbers keeping vigil at the Thai Ha Redemptorist property has escalated dramatically as Catholics from across the country, including numerous bishops, have travelled to Hanoi to participate in the prayer vigil in a show of solidarity, transforming the Thai Ha vigil into something far more intensive and pivotal. The Thai Ha property has come to be symbolic of all contentious Church-State land issues.
The government continues to respond to the prayer vigil/protests by slandering the Catholics in the State-run media, accusing them of "criminal behaviour" including vandalism, asserting that the Catholic Church had once signed the property over to the State and even accusing Hanoi's Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of inciting protests. (Link 4)
Father Stephen Chan Tin, who has participated in the prayer vigils, testifies as an eye witness that they have not involved riotous or criminal behaviour. He reports that the praise and prayer services he attended at the Thai Ha site were "organized in a very reverent and careful manner". He laments the blatant slander issued against the church and has issued an appeal for truth. His paper also examines the Communist ideology that motivates such abuse of and disrespect for humanity and private property. (Link 5)
On Thursday 28 August several Catholics were wounded as riot police attacked the pray-ers/protesters with electric batons. Four Catholics were arrested. Father Nguyen Van Peter Khai told AFP that police had attacked the Catholics as they sat on the street for a peaceful vigil. "'We were in the street on Thai Ha street and the police repressed the Christians using electric shocks,' said Khai. 'A lot of people were beaten by police, they were beaten very hard.' He showed AFP digital photographs showing two women bleeding from head wounds who he said were victims of the police baton-charge."
That evening around 100 Catholics protested outside the headquarters of Dong Da district police, calling for the release of those detained. Three more Catholics were then arrested. (Link 6)
On Sunday 31 August a canister of tear gas was thrown in amongst some 3,000 gathered for worship at the Thai Ha site. Police were present in large numbers, armed with cameras, taking photos of the worshippers/protesters.
On Monday 8 September, the New Hanoi and the People's Police papers published ominous words issued by Lt-General Nguyen Van Huong, Vice-Minister of Public Security and Major-General Nguyen Duc Nhanh, the Director of the Hanoi Police Agency, whereby they warned Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet of Hanoi, along with his priests and faithful, that a crackdown was imminent.
Bishop Francis Nguyen Van Sang of Thai Binh diocese subsequently warned the communist government "not to use the sword". "Using the sword against innocent civilians is shameful, and will be condemned by international public opinion." (Link 7)
VietCatholic News Agency (VNA) reports that after the Saturday 13 September mass at St Joseph Cathedral in Hanoi, thousands of worshippers proceeded to the former nunciature where vigils had been held through January. Police reinforcements were sent to prevent more Catholics from joining the worshippers who "virtually converted the street in front of the building into an open church for hours". (Link 8)
VNA continues: "Trembled by sudden developments at Hanoi nunciature and the influx into the capital of ten thousands of Catholics from northern provinces, hundreds of anti-riot police raided Cua Bac parish at 6 pm local time. A police intelligence unit had reported a protest in the said parish. However, it was not a protest at all. Thousands of faithful gathered at the church to celebrate Mid-Autumn festival for children."
INTERFERENCE AND PLANTED BOGUS PRIESTS
One of the complaints of the ECV(S) mentioned in the Call to Prayer is that of government interference in church affairs causing division and turmoil. Catholics have likewise reported seriously destructive and unwelcome state interference.
Further to this, AsiaNews reported on 9 September: "Some priests have appeared on Vietnamese state TV and have been interviewed by government newspapers speaking out against Thai Ha parishioners who want the restitution of parish property, except that these men of the cloth are neither priests nor Catholic. At least one of them has in fact been identified as a Communist party official. 'They were "ordained" by the government,' was the scathing comment from the diocese of Hanoi." (Link 9)
CRACKDOWN ON THOSE WHO TALK TO OR READ CHRISTIAN MEDIA
Frustrated by its inability to control all media, the government is now threatening action against anyone who talks to or reads Catholic media. JB An Dang reports for Independent Catholic News: "Police in Vietnam have begun inspecting the computers of Catholics who have taken part in the ongoing prayer vigils over confiscated church properties.
"A source in Hanoi said the authorities are closely monitoring overseas reports on the protests. 'You are in serious trouble should your browsing history include Asia-News, Catholic News Agency, Catholic World News, Independent Catholic News, VietCatholic News, Zenit and others,' he warned.
"Plain clothed police are reported to be hunting for Catholic reporters who are keeping the outside world, and those in Vietnam who access to the Internet, informed about the protest.
"One journalist said: 'I was about to send an email when police swamped in. The person next to me had his browsing history inspected. He even was forced to log into his Gmail account for a 'security inspection'." (Link 10)
PERSECUTION, ANGER AND SLANDER MEET PERSEVERANCE, JOY AND GRACE
VietCatholic News reports: "Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of Hanoi and Bishop Peter Nguyen Van De of Bui Chu joined more than two thousands of protesters on Friday afternoon [12 September] when the superior of Thai Ha monastery and some other priests were being 'summoned' by police. 'I know at this time all your priests are summoned, no one stay at home. So I am here to help them doing church keeping,' Archbishop Joseph Ngo joked with protesters.
"Bishop Peter Nguyen, who travelled more than 200 km to join with protesters, also joked with them that state television had repeatedly warned to imprison anyone who dared to be here to pray, especially priests. So he wanted to be here 'out of the fear to be alone outside when all priests are jailed.'" His joke was intensely welcomed by protesters." (Link 11)
On Sunday 14 September, the Catholics of Hanoi followed instructions issued by the Archdioceses on Friday and prayed for God to forgive all those associated with the State media disinformation and slander campaign, as well as those who have issued threats against the church. (Link 11)
By Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) "A Call to Prayer -- To the Church of God Everywhere"
Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) (ECV(S)) 28 March 2008
http://www.worldevangelicals.org/news/view.htm?id=2068
2) Bishop of Thai Binh: Bye-bye my dear people, I will go to the jail.
11 Sept 2008 (great pictures)
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58371.htm
3) The Peaceful Revolution of Vietnam's Catholics.
By Sandro Magister 28 May 2008
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/203701?eng=y
SEE ALSO
Holy row over land in Vietnam. By Nga Pham. 26 Feb 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7262411.stm
AND http://vigiaohoiconggiaovn.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!47BCEBC38CCBF581!763.entry
4) Government sheds light on Thai Ha criminal behaviour. 30 Aug 2008
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=03CAS300808
Hanoi Archbishop accused of inciting protests. 9 Sept 2008
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58264.htm
5) "Communism: The End Justifies the Means."
By Father Stephen Chan Tin (8 August 2008)
http://www.worldevangelicals.org/news/view.htm?id=2065
6) Vietnam arrests four in Catholic land dispute, say protesters. 28 Aug 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hLVcCIxncCRfGBs5hAUwDl2QyTVQ
Catholics rally at Vietnam police station, three detained. 29 Aug 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkF12kTbAUNUQw7IqqgurLIKYS3Q
SEE ALSO: Prayers and protests in Vietnam
By Nga Pham. BBC News, Hanoi, 2 Sep 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7593251.stm
7) Vietnam: Bishop warns the government "not to use the sword" (great pictures) http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58313.htm 10 Sep 2008
8) Thousand of Catholics protest at Hanoi former nunciature, police raid a Hanoi parish. 13 Sept 2008 http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58478.htm
9) False priests appear on Hanoi media to discredit Catholics
By JB An Dang, AsiaNews, 9 Sep 2008
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13170&size=A
10) Vietnamese warned not to read ICN
By JB An Dang, 12 Sep 2008
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/latdang376.html
11) Hanoi Archdiocese to observe day of prayer for state media personnel
(Great pictures) 12 Sep 2008
http://www.vietcatholic.net/News/Html/58431.htm
Friday, June 24, 2005
LAOGAI: China's Bamboo Curtain
Date: Friday 24 June 2005
Subj: China's Bamboo Curtain
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
-----------------------
CHINA'S BAMBOO CURTAIN
-----------------------
On 26 May, Chinese Diplomat Mr Chen Yonglin (37) abandoned his post at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, Australia, and requested political asylum from the Australian government. On 4 June, at a rally in Sydney commemorating the 16th anniversary of the "1989 Tiananmen Democratic Movement", he unexpectedly, announced publicly his resignation from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Mr Chen, who claims that one of his jobs was to monitor Falun Gong in Australia, accuses the Chinese government of political and religious repression and persecution, and says that his conscience will not permit him to serve the CCP any longer. Along with his wife and young daughter, Chen is seeking asylum in Australia on the grounds that his liberty and even his life are now at risk because of the way the CCP punishes dissenters. (Link 1)
Mr Chen's defection sent seismic shock-waves through Australia's political, Chinese, and human rights advocacy communities. China's ambassador to Australia, Madame Fu Ying publicly denied Chen's remarks saying, 'China has moved on a long way from what it was like in the 1970s. China is not a country behind the bamboo curtain any more.' (Link 2)
Madame Fu's statement deserves scrutiny. While China has moved a long way from what it was like it the 1970s, it has only done so with one foot – the economic foot. China's city skylines are striped with skyscrapers and industrial cranes. China's sparkling, modern shopping arcades, bastions of the new Chinese materialism and capitalism, are are bustling with consumers, many of them foreign workers. CCP leaders now shake hands and seek photo opportunities and trade deals with Western leaders. In this regard, yes, China has moved a long way from what it was like in the 1970s.
However, the other foot – the human rights foot – remains firmly planted in the Mao era. Today the very same instruments of repression that Mao himself established and used from the early 1950s, are still being employed by the ruling CCP to crush dissent. As long as this is the case, China cannot boast that the bamboo curtain has come down.
There is however, an element of truth in Madame Fu's remark that "China is not a country behind the bamboo curtain any more". Through the 1950s, 60s and 70s the CCP firmly believed the threat to its power lay in external forces, so, with foreigners expelled, it erected a "bamboo curtain" around the nation for protection. Then, through the 1980s, the CCP watched internal forces bring down Communism in Poland. On 4 June 1989, the CCP resorted to violence to crush destabilising internal forces gathered in Tienanmen Square.
Today the CCP knows that China's economic growth and power enable it to deflect external pressures. The CCP also now knows that the main threat to its totalitarian rule is internal. So, as a self-preservation measure, the CCP wraps its bamboo curtain around its internal social problems and uncontrollable elements; i.e. prostitutes, drug addicts, and "counter-revolutionaries" such as political and religious dissidents. So while China might not be "behind" the bamboo curtain any more, the bamboo curtain has not come down, it has simply been brought inside.
LAO-GAI
China's bamboo curtain is integral to, indeed inseparable from, the Mao-instituted lao-gai – a vast network of concentration camps and slave labour prisons that has functioned for some 50 years as a tool of CCP repression.
Chairman Mao established the lao-gai in the early 1950s, primarily as a source of slave labour. He was executing "counter-revolutionaries" but quickly came to the conclusion that he was wasting a precious resource. He decided it would be more beneficial to incarcerate a percentage of these "counter-revolutionaries" for the purpose of exploitation. So he employed Soviet advisors and established the lao-gai following the model of the Soviet Gulag. In their new book "Mao – the unknown story", Jung Chang and Jon Halliday estimate that some 27 million Chinese died in labour camps during Mao's rule.
The lao-gai are completely separate from China's official justice system, and as such, operate totally outside the law. Those incarcerated are done so without criminal charge or trial. The lao-gai enable the CCP, through its various instruments (such as the Religious Affairs Department or the Public Security Bureau) to quickly and quietly lock away, behind the bamboo curtain, any internal force that threatens the unity of the masses or the totalitarian power, image or propaganda of the CCP. (Link 3)
The fact that the Chinese economy is, to a large extent, dependent upon this system of forced slave labour introduces a whole new ethical dilemma to the "Made in China" label.
Harry Wu, executive director of the Laogai Research Foundation, wrote in a 1999 essay published by CNN, "The Laogai is not simply a prison system; it is a political tool for maintaining the Communist Party's totalitarian rule. A fundamental policy of the Laogai states that 'forced labor is a means toward the goal of thought reform'."
Wu, who says the CCP runs at least 1,100 prison labour camps, says that in the lao-gai physical submission is achieved through violence, but "psychological and spiritual submissiveness, known as 'thought reform', is considered the optimal goal." He says, "We cannot condemn the evil actions of the Nazi concentration camps and the Soviet Gulag while we ignore the continuing brutality of the Laogai." (Link 4)
RHETORIC VS REALITY
While Chinese authorities are vociferously defending China's human rights in the wake of Chen's defection and allegations, Chinese police on the mainland are violently cracking down on house-church Christians, who refuse to submit to CCP control.
Catholics in Hebei Province, surrounding Beijing, are crying out that a campaign of violence has been unleashed upon them by the country's Religious Affairs Department which, they say, has declared an all-out war against the Church. Eight of Hebei's Catholic bishops and 13 of Hebei's Catholic priests are either imprisoned or "disappeared", behind the "bamboo curtain". (Link 5)
On Sunday 22 May, police and Public Security Bureau officers raided 60 house-churches simultaneously in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin province (north-eastern China, bordering North Korea). Another 40 churches in the area were raided over the following days. More than 600 house-church Christians were taken into custody. Whilst most of those arrested were released after 24 to 48 hours' interrogation, some 100 influential Christians – house church leaders, university students and professors, academics – remain in various detention centres, behind the "bamboo curtain". (Link 6)
Links
1) Chinese spies asking for asylum spark a crisis in Peking-Canberra relations. 20 June, 2005 CHINA – AUSTRALIA
http://asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3546
ALSO
Chinese defector breaks down, fears return to China
22 June 2005
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8859974
2) Diplomat 'has nothing to fear': China
PM - Monday, 6 June 2005
Reporter: Alexandra Kirk
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2005/s1385831.htm
3) Issue in China: Labor Camps That Operate outside the Courts
By Jim Yardley, The New York Times, 9 May 2005
http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/050905LA.shtml
4) Labor camps reinforce China's totalitarian rule
CNN Special. By Harry Wu. 1999
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/red.giant/prisons/wu.essay/
5) Persecution in Hebei, a liability for Hu Jintao’s plans
by Wang Hui, 8 June 2005, CHINA – VATICAN http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3464
6) Massive, coordinated crackdown on Chinese Christians
9 June 2005, The Voice of the Martyrs
http://www.persecution.com/news/index.cfm?action=fullstory&newsID=327
ALSO: China Aid Association http://www.chinaaid.org/
Subj: China's Bamboo Curtain
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
-----------------------
CHINA'S BAMBOO CURTAIN
-----------------------
On 26 May, Chinese Diplomat Mr Chen Yonglin (37) abandoned his post at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, Australia, and requested political asylum from the Australian government. On 4 June, at a rally in Sydney commemorating the 16th anniversary of the "1989 Tiananmen Democratic Movement", he unexpectedly, announced publicly his resignation from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Mr Chen, who claims that one of his jobs was to monitor Falun Gong in Australia, accuses the Chinese government of political and religious repression and persecution, and says that his conscience will not permit him to serve the CCP any longer. Along with his wife and young daughter, Chen is seeking asylum in Australia on the grounds that his liberty and even his life are now at risk because of the way the CCP punishes dissenters. (Link 1)
Mr Chen's defection sent seismic shock-waves through Australia's political, Chinese, and human rights advocacy communities. China's ambassador to Australia, Madame Fu Ying publicly denied Chen's remarks saying, 'China has moved on a long way from what it was like in the 1970s. China is not a country behind the bamboo curtain any more.' (Link 2)
Madame Fu's statement deserves scrutiny. While China has moved a long way from what it was like it the 1970s, it has only done so with one foot – the economic foot. China's city skylines are striped with skyscrapers and industrial cranes. China's sparkling, modern shopping arcades, bastions of the new Chinese materialism and capitalism, are are bustling with consumers, many of them foreign workers. CCP leaders now shake hands and seek photo opportunities and trade deals with Western leaders. In this regard, yes, China has moved a long way from what it was like in the 1970s.
However, the other foot – the human rights foot – remains firmly planted in the Mao era. Today the very same instruments of repression that Mao himself established and used from the early 1950s, are still being employed by the ruling CCP to crush dissent. As long as this is the case, China cannot boast that the bamboo curtain has come down.
There is however, an element of truth in Madame Fu's remark that "China is not a country behind the bamboo curtain any more". Through the 1950s, 60s and 70s the CCP firmly believed the threat to its power lay in external forces, so, with foreigners expelled, it erected a "bamboo curtain" around the nation for protection. Then, through the 1980s, the CCP watched internal forces bring down Communism in Poland. On 4 June 1989, the CCP resorted to violence to crush destabilising internal forces gathered in Tienanmen Square.
Today the CCP knows that China's economic growth and power enable it to deflect external pressures. The CCP also now knows that the main threat to its totalitarian rule is internal. So, as a self-preservation measure, the CCP wraps its bamboo curtain around its internal social problems and uncontrollable elements; i.e. prostitutes, drug addicts, and "counter-revolutionaries" such as political and religious dissidents. So while China might not be "behind" the bamboo curtain any more, the bamboo curtain has not come down, it has simply been brought inside.
LAO-GAI
China's bamboo curtain is integral to, indeed inseparable from, the Mao-instituted lao-gai – a vast network of concentration camps and slave labour prisons that has functioned for some 50 years as a tool of CCP repression.
Chairman Mao established the lao-gai in the early 1950s, primarily as a source of slave labour. He was executing "counter-revolutionaries" but quickly came to the conclusion that he was wasting a precious resource. He decided it would be more beneficial to incarcerate a percentage of these "counter-revolutionaries" for the purpose of exploitation. So he employed Soviet advisors and established the lao-gai following the model of the Soviet Gulag. In their new book "Mao – the unknown story", Jung Chang and Jon Halliday estimate that some 27 million Chinese died in labour camps during Mao's rule.
The lao-gai are completely separate from China's official justice system, and as such, operate totally outside the law. Those incarcerated are done so without criminal charge or trial. The lao-gai enable the CCP, through its various instruments (such as the Religious Affairs Department or the Public Security Bureau) to quickly and quietly lock away, behind the bamboo curtain, any internal force that threatens the unity of the masses or the totalitarian power, image or propaganda of the CCP. (Link 3)
The fact that the Chinese economy is, to a large extent, dependent upon this system of forced slave labour introduces a whole new ethical dilemma to the "Made in China" label.
Harry Wu, executive director of the Laogai Research Foundation, wrote in a 1999 essay published by CNN, "The Laogai is not simply a prison system; it is a political tool for maintaining the Communist Party's totalitarian rule. A fundamental policy of the Laogai states that 'forced labor is a means toward the goal of thought reform'."
Wu, who says the CCP runs at least 1,100 prison labour camps, says that in the lao-gai physical submission is achieved through violence, but "psychological and spiritual submissiveness, known as 'thought reform', is considered the optimal goal." He says, "We cannot condemn the evil actions of the Nazi concentration camps and the Soviet Gulag while we ignore the continuing brutality of the Laogai." (Link 4)
RHETORIC VS REALITY
While Chinese authorities are vociferously defending China's human rights in the wake of Chen's defection and allegations, Chinese police on the mainland are violently cracking down on house-church Christians, who refuse to submit to CCP control.
Catholics in Hebei Province, surrounding Beijing, are crying out that a campaign of violence has been unleashed upon them by the country's Religious Affairs Department which, they say, has declared an all-out war against the Church. Eight of Hebei's Catholic bishops and 13 of Hebei's Catholic priests are either imprisoned or "disappeared", behind the "bamboo curtain". (Link 5)
On Sunday 22 May, police and Public Security Bureau officers raided 60 house-churches simultaneously in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin province (north-eastern China, bordering North Korea). Another 40 churches in the area were raided over the following days. More than 600 house-church Christians were taken into custody. Whilst most of those arrested were released after 24 to 48 hours' interrogation, some 100 influential Christians – house church leaders, university students and professors, academics – remain in various detention centres, behind the "bamboo curtain". (Link 6)
Links
1) Chinese spies asking for asylum spark a crisis in Peking-Canberra relations. 20 June, 2005 CHINA – AUSTRALIA
http://asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3546
ALSO
Chinese defector breaks down, fears return to China
22 June 2005
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8859974
2) Diplomat 'has nothing to fear': China
PM - Monday, 6 June 2005
Reporter: Alexandra Kirk
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2005/s1385831.htm
3) Issue in China: Labor Camps That Operate outside the Courts
By Jim Yardley, The New York Times, 9 May 2005
http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/050905LA.shtml
4) Labor camps reinforce China's totalitarian rule
CNN Special. By Harry Wu. 1999
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/red.giant/prisons/wu.essay/
5) Persecution in Hebei, a liability for Hu Jintao’s plans
by Wang Hui, 8 June 2005, CHINA – VATICAN http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3464
6) Massive, coordinated crackdown on Chinese Christians
9 June 2005, The Voice of the Martyrs
http://www.persecution.com/news/index.cfm?action=fullstory&newsID=327
ALSO: China Aid Association http://www.chinaaid.org/
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
China (2): Freedom of "normal" religion.
Date: Tuesday 24 February 2004
Subj: China (2): Freedom of "normal" religion.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
FREEDOM OF "NORMAL" RELIGION.
In October 2003 the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) of the City of Qingdao, China, promulgated its "Policy and Regulations with regard to Banning Secretly-Established Christian Gathering Places".
Qingdao is a major costal city in the province of Shandong. While this is a local document, it is based on the official policy of the Chinese Communist Party and would therefore conform to national standards.
The RAB policy is divided into five sections:
I) "The Communist Party's basic view and policy on the issue of religion"
II) "Freedom of religious belief enshrined in the Constitution"
III) "Laws and regulations concerning religion"
IV) "Harms of secretly-established gathering places and self-claimed preachers"
V) "Several proposals on dealing with secretly-established Christian gathering places".
The document makes it quite clear that freedom of "normal" religion is protected by the constitution and by law. In section III point 1 the term "normal" is clearly defined as registered. "Through registration, the society may distinguish abnormal illegal activities from normal religious activities conducted at religious sites."
Section I, points 7,8 and 9, establish that it is the purpose of the Patriotic Church to act as a "bridge" linking the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the church, so the CCP can "channel religion", thus "safeguarding the social stability". Section II point 3 states that patriotic believers are an "efficient barrier" of defence, protecting China from foreign interference, infiltration and invasion.
Section IV describes "self-claimed preachers" (preachers not recognised by the CCP) as law-breakers who "greatly impede the implementation of the religious policy". It is alleged that "self-claimed preachers" set up their illegal religious sites in order to collect money, raise issues, create factions, seduce believes into wrongdoings, and to establish more secret gathering places. They also "conduct superstitious activities, distort religious teachings, spread heresy, and instigate believers to turn from registered religious sites to secretly-established gathering places, thus disrupting normal religious activities". They also provide illegal sites for criminals and facilitate the activity of cults.
Finally, section V opens with the statement, "Secretly-established Christian gathering places and self-claimed preachers must be banned." It then gives procedures to deal with, and if needs be punish, those participating at various levels: 2. the ignorant, 3. the nominal, 4. the devout, and 5. the leaders.
The following is the full text of the RAB document.
- Elizabeth Kendal
rl-research@crossnet.org.au
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Policy and Regulations with regard to Banning Secretly-Established Christian Gathering Places."
Religious Affairs Bureau of the City of Qingdao.
October 2003.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I. THE COMMUNIST PARTY'S BASIC VIEW AND POLICY ON THE ISSUE OF RELIGION
1. Religion has a process of origination, development and extinction. And it will exist in the socialist society for a long period of time. Therefore, we may neither extinguish nor develop religion by administrative means.
2. Freedom of religious belief is protected by the Constitution. People enjoy freedom to believe in religion, and freedom not to believe in religion.
3. We shall publicize atheism. However, we cannot equate the difference between theism and atheism to the political confrontation. We need to adhere to the principle of cooperation in terms of politics, and mutual respect in terms of faith.
4. The government shall administer religious affairs according to law, protect normal religious activities and religious people'slegal rights, and deter criminal activities conducted in the name of
religion.
5. Contradictions with respect to religion in our country are mainly the ones from among the people. However, under certain circumstances confrontations might occur. Therefore, we need to strictly differentiate and carefully handle contradictions of two different types of essence.
6. The principle of self-running the church shall be adhered to. Foreign goodwill religious exchanges shall be conducted on the basis of equality. Infiltrations by hostile overseas forces in the name of religion shall be boycotted. No overseas religious group or individual shall be allowed to interfere in our country's religious affairs.
7. Patriotic religious groups serve as the bridge linking the Party, the government and religious people. We shall give them support in their self-development, self-conducted activities, and in fulfilling their roles.
8. Patriotic religious personnel are an important force in solidifying religious believers, and safeguarding the social stability. Religious groups shall train patriotic religious personnel purposely and systematically.
9. We shall positively channel religion to adapt to the socialist society. Religious believers shall combine their faith with patriotism, and conduct their activities within the framework of law and government policy.
10. All religious groups and believers shall safeguard the dignity of law, the interests of people, the national solidarity and reunification.
II. FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF ENSHRINED IN THE CONSTITUTION
Article 36 of The Constitution of the People's Republic of China stipulates, "Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief. No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state. Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination."
1. Respect and protect freedom of religious belief.
Religion, as along-term popular phenomenon in mankind's spiritual life, has deep epistemological ground and social roots, and follows objective rules that are not controlled by human will. Our country is a socialist one with people as its master. People enjoy extensive freedom and democratic rights, including right to freely choosing religious belief. Believers and non-believers share common political and economic interests. Only by respecting believers' religious faith can we solidify them to make concerted efforts in socialist modernization drive.
2. Administer religious affairs according to law.
The state protects normal religious activities allowed by the Constitution, law and policy. Religion shall not interfere with the executive issue, the judiciary issue, religious education and social public education of the state. We shall not allow any activity conducted in the name of religion that may disturb the social order, hurt people's health, and impede the state's education system. It is allowed in no way to use religion to oppose the Party's leadership and socialist system, to sabotage the state's reunification and national solidarity. Religious affairs in our country include that religious activities must be administered according to law.
3. Adhere to the principles of independence and self-running the church.
In history, colonialists and imperialists took Roman Catholic and Christianity as tools to invade China, so Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Church in China were once dominated by foreign forces, thus hurting Chinese people deeply. After the founding of new China, patriotic religious personnel and believers are not willing to see the foreign domination of the Chinese church. Therefore they seek to be independent and self-run the church. This is the common aspiration of both believers and non-believers, is the efficient barrier by which we may defend our country's religious affairs against foreign interference and infiltration, and serves as an important guarantee of avoiding the replay of historical tragedy, and safeguarding the state sovereignty and national dignity. All religions in our county must adhere to the principles of independence and self-running.
III. LAWS AND REGULATIONS REGARDING RELIGION
To protect freedom of religious belief, safeguard believers' legal rights, and administer religious affairs according to law, the State Council, the State Administration for Religious affairs and the People's Congress of Shandong Province established and promulgated laws and regulations concerning religion. In 1994, the State Council, through executive order No. 144, and No. 145, promulgated the Provisions on the Administration of Religious Activities of Aliens within the Territory of the People's Republic of China, and the Provisions on Administering Religious Sites. Subsequently, the State Administration for Religious Affairs issued Methods on Registering Religious Sites, and Methods on the Annual Inspection of Religious Sites. In 2000, the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth People's Congress of Shandong Province adopted the Provisions on Administering Religious Affairs of Shandong Province. These laws and regulations provide legal foundations for the government to administer religious affairs. Religious believers shall abide by them.
1. Religious sites must be registered.
Religious sites are public places where believers and clerks conduct religious activities, and are social organizations whose establishment and activities involve various social aspects. Various relationships may originate from among believers, between believers and clerks, between believers and non-believers, and between religious sites and other social organizations, which shall be coordinated according to laws and regulations. Without resorting to laws and regulations, we cannot solve contradictions within religious sites, and contradictions between religious sites and other social aspects, and safeguard legal rights of religious sites. To register according to law is the legal procedure that religious sites must undergo in obtaining legal status, and is also the precondition on which the government may administer religious sites. Only registered religious sites are legal. All non-registered ones are illegal. Through registration, legal rights of religious sites will be protected by law. Through registration, the society may distinguish abnormal illegal activities from normal religious activities conducted at religious sites, thus making people know and respect legal religious activities, guard against illegal religious activities, and bringing illegal activities to justice.
2. The following conditions shall be met in establishing religious sites:
a. Having fixed places and names
b. Having regular members
c. Having administration body consisting of believers
d. Having clerks or personnel who meet requirements of respective
religion, who preside over religious activities.
e. Having bylaw
f. Having legal income
3. Procedures and requirements on registering religious sites.
The Religious body submits application for establishing a religious site, materials and certificates regarding this site, the endorsement of the township government or neighborhood office in the city, to the department of religious affairs of the government at or above the county level. After receiving the application, all related materials and certificates, the registrar shall make timely decision of either accepting or declining the case. If the case is accepted, the registration form will be issued. Then follow the procedures of examining, approving and certificating.
4. Major obligations that religious sites shall implement.
Religious sites, as a kind of social organizations, while their legal rights are respected and protected by the state and society, shall assume responsibilities that social organizations should assume to the state and society. Therefore, Article 4, 5, 9, and 12 of the Provisions on Administering Religious Sites stipulate the following:
a. Religious sites shall establish administration system, strengthening self construction and self administration.
b. The Provisions clearly states, "No one may make use of religious sites to engage in activities that disrupt the state reunification, national solidarity, social order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state." Religious sites are equal to other social organizations in front of law, whose activities shall be subject to the state law and policy.
c. Stick to the principle enshrined in the Constitution, that "Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination." Article 4 of the Provisions clearly states, "Religious sites are not subject to the domination of foreign religious organizations or individuals."
d. Religious sites shall follow the concerned regulations in receiving donations from overseas religious organizations or individuals.
e. All social activities at religious sites shall be conducted according to concerned laws, rules and regulations, and subject to the government's instruction and supervision.
5. Regulations on religious clerks.
Article 8 of the Provisions on Administering Religious Affairs of Shandong Province stipulates, "Religious clerks shall abide by the state laws and regulations, and rules and regulations of religious bodies and religious sites to which they belong. The confirmation or dismissal on clerk status shall be reported to the corresponding department of religious affairs for recording purpose."
6. Regulations on punishing illegal evangelists.
Article 32 of the Provisions on Administering Religious Affairs of Shandong Province stipulates, "The department of religious affairs shall ban religious clerk from presiding over religious activities outside religious sites, and non religious clerk from presiding over religious activities, and confiscate illegal incomes and possessions, and impose a fine ranging from 500 Yuan to 5000 Yuan (note: 1 dollar approximately equals 8.2 Yuan)."
7. Regulations on punishing illegal religious activities.
The Provisions on Administering Religious Affairs of Shandong Province stipulates that the department of religious affairs shall ban the following conducts, and confiscate illegal incomes and possessions, and impose a fine ranging from 3,000 Yuan to 30,000 Yuan:
a. Rebuild, dismantle, or remove temples, mosques and churches without approval.
b. Establish religious sites without approval.
c. Accept foreign religious donations, mission fund, or receiveforeign donations without approval.
d. Set up commercial or service network, conduct exhibitions, or shoot films at religious sites and religious education institutions without approval.
e. Set up outdoor religious signs without approval.
f. Non-religious organizations set up religious facilities, conduct religious activities, receive or receive in disguised form religious donations.
g. Accept additional religious conditions in foreign exchanges.
IV. HARMS OF SECRETLY-ESTABLISHED GATHERING PLACES AND SELF-CLAIMED PREACHERS
Secretly-established Christian gathering places are the illegal ones that have not filed application through religious bodies, and not registered with the department of religious affairs according to law, and not been administered according to law. Their activities are illegal religious ones. Self-claimed preachers are the ones who are not recognized by religious bodies, and not recorded by the department of religious affairs.
Their harms are as follows:
1. Violate religious policy, laws and regulations of the Party and the state.
The Constitution enshrines, "Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief." But freedom of religious belief is subject to the state's law, regulations and policy, and does not mean anarchism, nor means that people can do whatever they want to do. The Provisions on Administering Religious Sites stipulates, "Religious sites must register. Religious activities conducted at religious sites are subject to law and regulations." Since secretly-established Christian gathering places are mass organizations which defy the administration of the government and the leadership of patriotic religious bodies, and are in disarray, and their religious activities are conducted according to self-claimed preachers' own will and requirements, thus failing to meet the demand of the state and society, they greatly impede the implementation of the religious policy and regulations of the Party and the state.
2. Disrupt the normal order of religious activities.
The increase of secretly-established Christian gathering places and their members imposes great impact upon the normal order of religious activities. On the one hand, leaders of secretly established gathering places and self-claimed preachers, for the purpose of collecting money, constantly raise issues among the church, conduct splitting activities, form different factions, and seduce believers into wrongdoings, to establish new secret gathering places. On the other hand, leaders of secretly-established gathering places and self-claimed preachers conduct superstitious activities, distort religious teaching, spread heresy, and instigate believers to turn from registered religious sites to secretly-established gathering places, thus disrupting normal religious activities.
3. Sabotage social stability and people's lives.
The spread of secret Christian gathering places not only provide illegal sites for criminals, but also facilitate some cultic activists to conduct illegal activities. Some leaders of secret-established gathering places and self-claimed preachers collect money in the name of religion, thus constantly increasing believers' burden. Some cultic activists take advantage of the disorder of secret gathering places to become their member, and spread heretic teaching, many people are thus deceived, leaving their family and possessions, and wandering around. Therefore, people's normal lives and social stability are disrupted.
V. SEVERAL PROPOSALS ON DEALING WITH SECRETLY-ESTABLISHED GATHERING PLACES
Secretly-established Christian gathering places and self-claimed preachers must be banned. Concrete proposals are as follows:
1. All secret gathering places that fail to register according to law shall be banned.
2. Large secret gathering places, which are established due to improper location of religious sites and believers' lacking knowledge of religious policy and regulations, and pursuing orthodox faith, shall be dealt with through education. Those who wish to join patriotic religious bodies, and submit themselves to the government's administration shall be dealt with through lawful registration or proper arrangement of religious sites.
3. Those who become believers and set up secret gathering places due to the preaching of self-claimed preachers, but not being deeply affected by them, shall be brainwashed with the government's policy and regulations, and ordered to desert heretic teachings. On this basis, if one wants to give up his religious belief, his own will shall be respected. If one wishes to keep his religious belief, he shall be ordered to stop illegal religious activities, join patriotic religious bodies, submit himself to the government's administration, and go to legally registered religious sites for religious activities.
4. Those who are deeply affected by self-claimed preachers, oppose patriotic religious bodies, and defy the government's administration shall be "educated" and "transformed" through compulsive study of the government's religious policy and regulations.
5. Those self-claimed preachers, leaders and core members of secret gathering places who are stubborn and refuse to be transformed shall be detained and dealt with through different means. Each shall be brainwashed into giving up his wrongdoing. He who transforms himself well shall write down his confession and sign pledge of correction. He who sticks to his wrongdoing shall be seriously punished according to law.
6. Illegal gathering places established by "Eastern Lightning" and other cultic organizations shall be banned by the police department according to law.
END
Subj: China (2): Freedom of "normal" religion.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
FREEDOM OF "NORMAL" RELIGION.
In October 2003 the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) of the City of Qingdao, China, promulgated its "Policy and Regulations with regard to Banning Secretly-Established Christian Gathering Places".
Qingdao is a major costal city in the province of Shandong. While this is a local document, it is based on the official policy of the Chinese Communist Party and would therefore conform to national standards.
The RAB policy is divided into five sections:
I) "The Communist Party's basic view and policy on the issue of religion"
II) "Freedom of religious belief enshrined in the Constitution"
III) "Laws and regulations concerning religion"
IV) "Harms of secretly-established gathering places and self-claimed preachers"
V) "Several proposals on dealing with secretly-established Christian gathering places".
The document makes it quite clear that freedom of "normal" religion is protected by the constitution and by law. In section III point 1 the term "normal" is clearly defined as registered. "Through registration, the society may distinguish abnormal illegal activities from normal religious activities conducted at religious sites."
Section I, points 7,8 and 9, establish that it is the purpose of the Patriotic Church to act as a "bridge" linking the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the church, so the CCP can "channel religion", thus "safeguarding the social stability". Section II point 3 states that patriotic believers are an "efficient barrier" of defence, protecting China from foreign interference, infiltration and invasion.
Section IV describes "self-claimed preachers" (preachers not recognised by the CCP) as law-breakers who "greatly impede the implementation of the religious policy". It is alleged that "self-claimed preachers" set up their illegal religious sites in order to collect money, raise issues, create factions, seduce believes into wrongdoings, and to establish more secret gathering places. They also "conduct superstitious activities, distort religious teachings, spread heresy, and instigate believers to turn from registered religious sites to secretly-established gathering places, thus disrupting normal religious activities". They also provide illegal sites for criminals and facilitate the activity of cults.
Finally, section V opens with the statement, "Secretly-established Christian gathering places and self-claimed preachers must be banned." It then gives procedures to deal with, and if needs be punish, those participating at various levels: 2. the ignorant, 3. the nominal, 4. the devout, and 5. the leaders.
The following is the full text of the RAB document.
- Elizabeth Kendal
rl-research@crossnet.org.au
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Policy and Regulations with regard to Banning Secretly-Established Christian Gathering Places."
Religious Affairs Bureau of the City of Qingdao.
October 2003.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I. THE COMMUNIST PARTY'S BASIC VIEW AND POLICY ON THE ISSUE OF RELIGION
1. Religion has a process of origination, development and extinction. And it will exist in the socialist society for a long period of time. Therefore, we may neither extinguish nor develop religion by administrative means.
2. Freedom of religious belief is protected by the Constitution. People enjoy freedom to believe in religion, and freedom not to believe in religion.
3. We shall publicize atheism. However, we cannot equate the difference between theism and atheism to the political confrontation. We need to adhere to the principle of cooperation in terms of politics, and mutual respect in terms of faith.
4. The government shall administer religious affairs according to law, protect normal religious activities and religious people'slegal rights, and deter criminal activities conducted in the name of
religion.
5. Contradictions with respect to religion in our country are mainly the ones from among the people. However, under certain circumstances confrontations might occur. Therefore, we need to strictly differentiate and carefully handle contradictions of two different types of essence.
6. The principle of self-running the church shall be adhered to. Foreign goodwill religious exchanges shall be conducted on the basis of equality. Infiltrations by hostile overseas forces in the name of religion shall be boycotted. No overseas religious group or individual shall be allowed to interfere in our country's religious affairs.
7. Patriotic religious groups serve as the bridge linking the Party, the government and religious people. We shall give them support in their self-development, self-conducted activities, and in fulfilling their roles.
8. Patriotic religious personnel are an important force in solidifying religious believers, and safeguarding the social stability. Religious groups shall train patriotic religious personnel purposely and systematically.
9. We shall positively channel religion to adapt to the socialist society. Religious believers shall combine their faith with patriotism, and conduct their activities within the framework of law and government policy.
10. All religious groups and believers shall safeguard the dignity of law, the interests of people, the national solidarity and reunification.
II. FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF ENSHRINED IN THE CONSTITUTION
Article 36 of The Constitution of the People's Republic of China stipulates, "Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief. No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state. Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination."
1. Respect and protect freedom of religious belief.
Religion, as along-term popular phenomenon in mankind's spiritual life, has deep epistemological ground and social roots, and follows objective rules that are not controlled by human will. Our country is a socialist one with people as its master. People enjoy extensive freedom and democratic rights, including right to freely choosing religious belief. Believers and non-believers share common political and economic interests. Only by respecting believers' religious faith can we solidify them to make concerted efforts in socialist modernization drive.
2. Administer religious affairs according to law.
The state protects normal religious activities allowed by the Constitution, law and policy. Religion shall not interfere with the executive issue, the judiciary issue, religious education and social public education of the state. We shall not allow any activity conducted in the name of religion that may disturb the social order, hurt people's health, and impede the state's education system. It is allowed in no way to use religion to oppose the Party's leadership and socialist system, to sabotage the state's reunification and national solidarity. Religious affairs in our country include that religious activities must be administered according to law.
3. Adhere to the principles of independence and self-running the church.
In history, colonialists and imperialists took Roman Catholic and Christianity as tools to invade China, so Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Church in China were once dominated by foreign forces, thus hurting Chinese people deeply. After the founding of new China, patriotic religious personnel and believers are not willing to see the foreign domination of the Chinese church. Therefore they seek to be independent and self-run the church. This is the common aspiration of both believers and non-believers, is the efficient barrier by which we may defend our country's religious affairs against foreign interference and infiltration, and serves as an important guarantee of avoiding the replay of historical tragedy, and safeguarding the state sovereignty and national dignity. All religions in our county must adhere to the principles of independence and self-running.
III. LAWS AND REGULATIONS REGARDING RELIGION
To protect freedom of religious belief, safeguard believers' legal rights, and administer religious affairs according to law, the State Council, the State Administration for Religious affairs and the People's Congress of Shandong Province established and promulgated laws and regulations concerning religion. In 1994, the State Council, through executive order No. 144, and No. 145, promulgated the Provisions on the Administration of Religious Activities of Aliens within the Territory of the People's Republic of China, and the Provisions on Administering Religious Sites. Subsequently, the State Administration for Religious Affairs issued Methods on Registering Religious Sites, and Methods on the Annual Inspection of Religious Sites. In 2000, the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth People's Congress of Shandong Province adopted the Provisions on Administering Religious Affairs of Shandong Province. These laws and regulations provide legal foundations for the government to administer religious affairs. Religious believers shall abide by them.
1. Religious sites must be registered.
Religious sites are public places where believers and clerks conduct religious activities, and are social organizations whose establishment and activities involve various social aspects. Various relationships may originate from among believers, between believers and clerks, between believers and non-believers, and between religious sites and other social organizations, which shall be coordinated according to laws and regulations. Without resorting to laws and regulations, we cannot solve contradictions within religious sites, and contradictions between religious sites and other social aspects, and safeguard legal rights of religious sites. To register according to law is the legal procedure that religious sites must undergo in obtaining legal status, and is also the precondition on which the government may administer religious sites. Only registered religious sites are legal. All non-registered ones are illegal. Through registration, legal rights of religious sites will be protected by law. Through registration, the society may distinguish abnormal illegal activities from normal religious activities conducted at religious sites, thus making people know and respect legal religious activities, guard against illegal religious activities, and bringing illegal activities to justice.
2. The following conditions shall be met in establishing religious sites:
a. Having fixed places and names
b. Having regular members
c. Having administration body consisting of believers
d. Having clerks or personnel who meet requirements of respective
religion, who preside over religious activities.
e. Having bylaw
f. Having legal income
3. Procedures and requirements on registering religious sites.
The Religious body submits application for establishing a religious site, materials and certificates regarding this site, the endorsement of the township government or neighborhood office in the city, to the department of religious affairs of the government at or above the county level. After receiving the application, all related materials and certificates, the registrar shall make timely decision of either accepting or declining the case. If the case is accepted, the registration form will be issued. Then follow the procedures of examining, approving and certificating.
4. Major obligations that religious sites shall implement.
Religious sites, as a kind of social organizations, while their legal rights are respected and protected by the state and society, shall assume responsibilities that social organizations should assume to the state and society. Therefore, Article 4, 5, 9, and 12 of the Provisions on Administering Religious Sites stipulate the following:
a. Religious sites shall establish administration system, strengthening self construction and self administration.
b. The Provisions clearly states, "No one may make use of religious sites to engage in activities that disrupt the state reunification, national solidarity, social order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state." Religious sites are equal to other social organizations in front of law, whose activities shall be subject to the state law and policy.
c. Stick to the principle enshrined in the Constitution, that "Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination." Article 4 of the Provisions clearly states, "Religious sites are not subject to the domination of foreign religious organizations or individuals."
d. Religious sites shall follow the concerned regulations in receiving donations from overseas religious organizations or individuals.
e. All social activities at religious sites shall be conducted according to concerned laws, rules and regulations, and subject to the government's instruction and supervision.
5. Regulations on religious clerks.
Article 8 of the Provisions on Administering Religious Affairs of Shandong Province stipulates, "Religious clerks shall abide by the state laws and regulations, and rules and regulations of religious bodies and religious sites to which they belong. The confirmation or dismissal on clerk status shall be reported to the corresponding department of religious affairs for recording purpose."
6. Regulations on punishing illegal evangelists.
Article 32 of the Provisions on Administering Religious Affairs of Shandong Province stipulates, "The department of religious affairs shall ban religious clerk from presiding over religious activities outside religious sites, and non religious clerk from presiding over religious activities, and confiscate illegal incomes and possessions, and impose a fine ranging from 500 Yuan to 5000 Yuan (note: 1 dollar approximately equals 8.2 Yuan)."
7. Regulations on punishing illegal religious activities.
The Provisions on Administering Religious Affairs of Shandong Province stipulates that the department of religious affairs shall ban the following conducts, and confiscate illegal incomes and possessions, and impose a fine ranging from 3,000 Yuan to 30,000 Yuan:
a. Rebuild, dismantle, or remove temples, mosques and churches without approval.
b. Establish religious sites without approval.
c. Accept foreign religious donations, mission fund, or receiveforeign donations without approval.
d. Set up commercial or service network, conduct exhibitions, or shoot films at religious sites and religious education institutions without approval.
e. Set up outdoor religious signs without approval.
f. Non-religious organizations set up religious facilities, conduct religious activities, receive or receive in disguised form religious donations.
g. Accept additional religious conditions in foreign exchanges.
IV. HARMS OF SECRETLY-ESTABLISHED GATHERING PLACES AND SELF-CLAIMED PREACHERS
Secretly-established Christian gathering places are the illegal ones that have not filed application through religious bodies, and not registered with the department of religious affairs according to law, and not been administered according to law. Their activities are illegal religious ones. Self-claimed preachers are the ones who are not recognized by religious bodies, and not recorded by the department of religious affairs.
Their harms are as follows:
1. Violate religious policy, laws and regulations of the Party and the state.
The Constitution enshrines, "Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief." But freedom of religious belief is subject to the state's law, regulations and policy, and does not mean anarchism, nor means that people can do whatever they want to do. The Provisions on Administering Religious Sites stipulates, "Religious sites must register. Religious activities conducted at religious sites are subject to law and regulations." Since secretly-established Christian gathering places are mass organizations which defy the administration of the government and the leadership of patriotic religious bodies, and are in disarray, and their religious activities are conducted according to self-claimed preachers' own will and requirements, thus failing to meet the demand of the state and society, they greatly impede the implementation of the religious policy and regulations of the Party and the state.
2. Disrupt the normal order of religious activities.
The increase of secretly-established Christian gathering places and their members imposes great impact upon the normal order of religious activities. On the one hand, leaders of secretly established gathering places and self-claimed preachers, for the purpose of collecting money, constantly raise issues among the church, conduct splitting activities, form different factions, and seduce believers into wrongdoings, to establish new secret gathering places. On the other hand, leaders of secretly-established gathering places and self-claimed preachers conduct superstitious activities, distort religious teaching, spread heresy, and instigate believers to turn from registered religious sites to secretly-established gathering places, thus disrupting normal religious activities.
3. Sabotage social stability and people's lives.
The spread of secret Christian gathering places not only provide illegal sites for criminals, but also facilitate some cultic activists to conduct illegal activities. Some leaders of secret-established gathering places and self-claimed preachers collect money in the name of religion, thus constantly increasing believers' burden. Some cultic activists take advantage of the disorder of secret gathering places to become their member, and spread heretic teaching, many people are thus deceived, leaving their family and possessions, and wandering around. Therefore, people's normal lives and social stability are disrupted.
V. SEVERAL PROPOSALS ON DEALING WITH SECRETLY-ESTABLISHED GATHERING PLACES
Secretly-established Christian gathering places and self-claimed preachers must be banned. Concrete proposals are as follows:
1. All secret gathering places that fail to register according to law shall be banned.
2. Large secret gathering places, which are established due to improper location of religious sites and believers' lacking knowledge of religious policy and regulations, and pursuing orthodox faith, shall be dealt with through education. Those who wish to join patriotic religious bodies, and submit themselves to the government's administration shall be dealt with through lawful registration or proper arrangement of religious sites.
3. Those who become believers and set up secret gathering places due to the preaching of self-claimed preachers, but not being deeply affected by them, shall be brainwashed with the government's policy and regulations, and ordered to desert heretic teachings. On this basis, if one wants to give up his religious belief, his own will shall be respected. If one wishes to keep his religious belief, he shall be ordered to stop illegal religious activities, join patriotic religious bodies, submit himself to the government's administration, and go to legally registered religious sites for religious activities.
4. Those who are deeply affected by self-claimed preachers, oppose patriotic religious bodies, and defy the government's administration shall be "educated" and "transformed" through compulsive study of the government's religious policy and regulations.
5. Those self-claimed preachers, leaders and core members of secret gathering places who are stubborn and refuse to be transformed shall be detained and dealt with through different means. Each shall be brainwashed into giving up his wrongdoing. He who transforms himself well shall write down his confession and sign pledge of correction. He who sticks to his wrongdoing shall be seriously punished according to law.
6. Illegal gathering places established by "Eastern Lightning" and other cultic organizations shall be banned by the police department according to law.
END
China (1): Crackdown on house-churches.
Date: Tuesday 24 February 2004
Subj: China (1): Crackdown on house-churches.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
CRACKDOWN ON HOUSE-CHURCHES
In January 2004, top cadres of China's Religious Affairs Bureau and the policy-making United Front Work Department met for the annual National Religious Working Conference.
During that meeting, communist leaders screened a new, four-hour digital video, "The Cross: Jesus in China", written and directed by pro-democracy leader and Christian Yuan Zhiming, and produced by USA-based "China Soul for Christ". The cadres were also briefed on the new book, "Jesus in Beijing", by journalist and former TIME magazine correspondent in Beijing, David Aikman.
Timothy C. Morgan reports for Christianity Today magazine that "Both the video and book document the stunning growth and vibrancy of Christianity in China. The video has been classified as 'political matter', and Public Security Bureau officers are confiscating CDV copies of the widely distributed series and other Christian literature". (Link 1)
AsiaNews reports, "At a National Religious-Work conference in January, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Jia Qinglin, urged all party groups nation-wide to recommit to supervising religious activities and to guard against the influence of foreign church affiliated groups. He declared that the energy of the people must be directed instead to building up a prosperous society. The State Council has given 450 million yuan (around 56 million euro) to the Religious Affairs Bureau, to build up a team of expert cadres and eliminate unregistered religious groups. Suspicious factions are to be rooted out and replaced by 'patriotic' forces, religious sources said." (Link 2)
CBN News published a report by Gary Lane that included statements by Peter Xu (pastor of the "Born Again" movement) and Tianyun Samuel (Brother Yun, author of the book "Heavenly Man"). Both have been imprisoned several times in China for their Christian activity. Both have found refuge in the U.S.A.
Gary Lane quotes Peter Xu as saying, "The Cross [video] is a look at the growth of the house church movement in China, but the hardliners say it is subversive and undermines national religious policy. They have called for all copies of the DVD in China to be confiscated, and the house church leaders depicted in the video to be detained for questioning." (Link 3)
Gary Lane notes in his report that "Xu's sister Deborah, who was arrested January 24th because of her evangelistic activities, cannot be found. Xu says, 'We don't know where she is.we don't know where she is locked in. Her health is very weak.' Xu asks that Christians worldwide pray for his sister, and other Christians who have been arrested for the sake of the Gospel." (See also WEA RLC Prayer bulletin, link 4)
LEGITIMISING PERSECUTION
On 19 February, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) published an article entitled, "Temple fire leads to crackdown on religious activity", by Nailene Chou Wiest in Beijing. Wiest reports that fire in a bamboo prayer hall that killed 40 elderly women folk-Buddhist worshippers in Wufeng village, Haining county, Zhejiang province on Sunday 15 February, (see link 5), "has been used as grounds for provincial authorities, citing safety concerns, to clamp down on popular religious activities.
"The crackdown coincides with a new nationwide campaign intensifying the suppression of unregistered religious groups."
The AsiaNews article reports, "The fire in Zhejiang has given justification to officials for the crackdown, citing it as a prime example of the effect of superstition and foolishness. 'The Hianing
fire gave Zhejiang provincial bureaus new reasons to stamp out unregistered religious groups in the name of public safety,' a church source in Hangzhou stated." (Link 2)
SCMP reported, "As the families mourned the dead, the Zhejiang provincial department of public security and fire prevention units sent 11 work teams to demolish unauthorised meeting places across the province and condemned the 'superstitious practices' for causing the deaths."
KEEPING THE PARTY PURE
On Thursday 19 February, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) published an exhaustive list of taboo activities that could lead to a party member being expelled. A 19 February SCMP article entitled "Communist Party lists 178 things members cannot do", reports that "Besides the usual political no-nos, like opposing Marxism, Leninism, Maoism and Deng Xiaoping thought, the 178-article list published in the leading People's Daily also included apparently criminal acts such as accepting bribes, extortion and economic crimes.
"Other off-limit activities punishable by internal party sanction include visiting prostitutes, keeping mistresses, gambling, using illegal drugs or joining religious and 'cult' like groups."
The SCMP followed this on 20 February with an article entitled "Cadres face expulsion under new vice rules", which elaborated that the rules cover all party members and even retired leaders. "Party members can now be expelled for a wide range of activities. These include opposing party policy, economic crimes such as accepting bribes, joining religious groups, engaging in adultery or polygamy, watching pornographic shows, visiting prostitutes, gambling and using drugs."
If nothing else, this list of wicked, depraved, punishable sins demonstrates the status of religion in the CCP mind.
Links
1) China Arrests Dozens of Prominent Christians
By Timothy C. Morgan with David Neff in Washington, D.C. 18 Feb 2004
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/107/31.0.html
2) Underground communities: more persecutions after the temple blaze
Beijing (AsiaNews) 20 Feb 2004
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=392
3) Faith Amidst Persecution: Many Chinese Churches Destroyed
By Gary Lane, Chief International Correspondent, CBN, 20 Feb 2004
http://cbn.org/CBNNews/News/040220a.asp
4) RLP 259 18 Feb 2004. China: Church Demolition and Arrests
http://www.worldevangelical.org/persec_China_18feb04.html
5) Haining city closes illegal worship houses after fatal fire
18 Feb 2004
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/18/content_1320678.htm
Subj: China (1): Crackdown on house-churches.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
CRACKDOWN ON HOUSE-CHURCHES
In January 2004, top cadres of China's Religious Affairs Bureau and the policy-making United Front Work Department met for the annual National Religious Working Conference.
During that meeting, communist leaders screened a new, four-hour digital video, "The Cross: Jesus in China", written and directed by pro-democracy leader and Christian Yuan Zhiming, and produced by USA-based "China Soul for Christ". The cadres were also briefed on the new book, "Jesus in Beijing", by journalist and former TIME magazine correspondent in Beijing, David Aikman.
Timothy C. Morgan reports for Christianity Today magazine that "Both the video and book document the stunning growth and vibrancy of Christianity in China. The video has been classified as 'political matter', and Public Security Bureau officers are confiscating CDV copies of the widely distributed series and other Christian literature". (Link 1)
AsiaNews reports, "At a National Religious-Work conference in January, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Jia Qinglin, urged all party groups nation-wide to recommit to supervising religious activities and to guard against the influence of foreign church affiliated groups. He declared that the energy of the people must be directed instead to building up a prosperous society. The State Council has given 450 million yuan (around 56 million euro) to the Religious Affairs Bureau, to build up a team of expert cadres and eliminate unregistered religious groups. Suspicious factions are to be rooted out and replaced by 'patriotic' forces, religious sources said." (Link 2)
CBN News published a report by Gary Lane that included statements by Peter Xu (pastor of the "Born Again" movement) and Tianyun Samuel (Brother Yun, author of the book "Heavenly Man"). Both have been imprisoned several times in China for their Christian activity. Both have found refuge in the U.S.A.
Gary Lane quotes Peter Xu as saying, "The Cross [video] is a look at the growth of the house church movement in China, but the hardliners say it is subversive and undermines national religious policy. They have called for all copies of the DVD in China to be confiscated, and the house church leaders depicted in the video to be detained for questioning." (Link 3)
Gary Lane notes in his report that "Xu's sister Deborah, who was arrested January 24th because of her evangelistic activities, cannot be found. Xu says, 'We don't know where she is.we don't know where she is locked in. Her health is very weak.' Xu asks that Christians worldwide pray for his sister, and other Christians who have been arrested for the sake of the Gospel." (See also WEA RLC Prayer bulletin, link 4)
LEGITIMISING PERSECUTION
On 19 February, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) published an article entitled, "Temple fire leads to crackdown on religious activity", by Nailene Chou Wiest in Beijing. Wiest reports that fire in a bamboo prayer hall that killed 40 elderly women folk-Buddhist worshippers in Wufeng village, Haining county, Zhejiang province on Sunday 15 February, (see link 5), "has been used as grounds for provincial authorities, citing safety concerns, to clamp down on popular religious activities.
"The crackdown coincides with a new nationwide campaign intensifying the suppression of unregistered religious groups."
The AsiaNews article reports, "The fire in Zhejiang has given justification to officials for the crackdown, citing it as a prime example of the effect of superstition and foolishness. 'The Hianing
fire gave Zhejiang provincial bureaus new reasons to stamp out unregistered religious groups in the name of public safety,' a church source in Hangzhou stated." (Link 2)
SCMP reported, "As the families mourned the dead, the Zhejiang provincial department of public security and fire prevention units sent 11 work teams to demolish unauthorised meeting places across the province and condemned the 'superstitious practices' for causing the deaths."
KEEPING THE PARTY PURE
On Thursday 19 February, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) published an exhaustive list of taboo activities that could lead to a party member being expelled. A 19 February SCMP article entitled "Communist Party lists 178 things members cannot do", reports that "Besides the usual political no-nos, like opposing Marxism, Leninism, Maoism and Deng Xiaoping thought, the 178-article list published in the leading People's Daily also included apparently criminal acts such as accepting bribes, extortion and economic crimes.
"Other off-limit activities punishable by internal party sanction include visiting prostitutes, keeping mistresses, gambling, using illegal drugs or joining religious and 'cult' like groups."
The SCMP followed this on 20 February with an article entitled "Cadres face expulsion under new vice rules", which elaborated that the rules cover all party members and even retired leaders. "Party members can now be expelled for a wide range of activities. These include opposing party policy, economic crimes such as accepting bribes, joining religious groups, engaging in adultery or polygamy, watching pornographic shows, visiting prostitutes, gambling and using drugs."
If nothing else, this list of wicked, depraved, punishable sins demonstrates the status of religion in the CCP mind.
Links
1) China Arrests Dozens of Prominent Christians
By Timothy C. Morgan with David Neff in Washington, D.C. 18 Feb 2004
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/107/31.0.html
2) Underground communities: more persecutions after the temple blaze
Beijing (AsiaNews) 20 Feb 2004
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=392
3) Faith Amidst Persecution: Many Chinese Churches Destroyed
By Gary Lane, Chief International Correspondent, CBN, 20 Feb 2004
http://cbn.org/CBNNews/News/040220a.asp
4) RLP 259 18 Feb 2004. China: Church Demolition and Arrests
http://www.worldevangelical.org/persec_China_18feb04.html
5) Haining city closes illegal worship houses after fatal fire
18 Feb 2004
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/18/content_1320678.htm