COMPASS DIRECT
Global News from the Frontlines
May 17, 2002
E-Mail Version
Compass Direct is distributed monthly to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted or edited by active subscribers for use in other media, provided Compass Direct is acknowledged as the source of the material.
Copyright 2002 Compass Direct
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IN THIS ISSUE
CHINA
(1) ‘New’ Religious Policy -- Same Old Story
Leaked provincial regulations are a revamp of previous rules.
(2) China’s Anti-Cult Campaign in Context
Difficulties abound in sorting out a confusing situation.
COLOMBIA
(3) A Big Mistake
Colombian guerrillas appear uninterested in kidnapping evangelical missionaries.
(4) A Conversation with a Colombia Kidnap Survivor***
Ray Rising spent 810 days in captivity.
(5) Pastor Kidnapped Near Medellin
Church waits for demands from Colombian guerrillas.
EGYPT
(6) Coptic Mother Yearns to End Legal Battles***
Jailed ‘convert’ husband not yet arraigned.
ETHIOPIA
(7) Churches Attacked
Active Christian outreach programs raise Muslim tensions.
INDIA
(8) Extremists Call for Extermination of Muslims and Christians in Gujarat
India’s ‘laboratory of fascist Hinduism’ is embroiled in communal riots.
(9) Protestant Church Viciously Attacked
Tribal Christian is killed on Easter Sunday.
(10) Christians Secretly Forced to Re-Convert to Hinduism
Hindu militants call for an end to Christian proselytizing.
INDONESIA
(11) Ambon Christians Outraged as Muslim Leader Calls for Jihad
Twelve Christians are killed in eastern Indonesia.
NIGERIA
(12) Two Converts to Christianity Face Death
The location of the former Muslims is unknown.
(13) Defense Minister Says Muslims Plan to Wipe Out Christianity
Katsina state stops Christian religious education.
(14) Christians Question Reasons for Church Demolitions
Eleven churches are destroyed in April.
(15) Pope Tells Nigerian Priests to Resist Islamic Fundamentalism
Bishops term Islamic law a “flagrant violation.”
NORTH KOREA
(16) Persecution Plus Famine Equals Church Growth
Collision of terrible events sparks new hope for Christians.
PERU
(17) Pardon in Doubt for Peruvian Evangelical
Walter Cubas is stuck with a decade-old terrorism charge.
PHILIPPINES
(18) Hostages Near One-Year Mark***
No release in sight for Martin and Gracia Burnham.
(19) Hostage Knew the Risks
Mission has faced 20 years of crisis management.
Turkey
(20) Iranian Christian Family Faces Quandary***
Canadian Embassy refuses immigration status.
(21) Turkish Pastor Put on Trial in Diyarbakir***
Church construction halted since November.
(22) Turkish Protestants Subjected to Open Intimidation
Nationalist Party targets Istanbul church services.
(23) Bomb Threat Against Ankara Church
***Indicates an article-related photo is available electronically. Contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.
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(1) China’s ‘New’ Religious Policy -- Same Old Story
Leaked Provincial Regulations are a Revamp of Previous Rules
by Xu Mei
HONG KONG (Compass) -- Following the major religious affairs conference in Beijing last December, those concerned with the cause of religious freedom in China have been awaiting promised new legislation with some trepidation. Now, after many confusing signals, a copy of the new religious regulations for Jiangsu province has leaked overseas, providing an opportunity for a serious assessment of Beijing’s present policies on religion.
Some observers believe that Beijing is deliberately issuing the new regulations at the provincial level to judge reactions both inside and outside China before going ahead with new national regulations. The Jiangsu provincial regulations that were passed on February 5 -- and become effective June 1 -- are probably typical of what is now being promulgated across the country at the provincial level.
China watchers say this new document of 45 regulations leads to the conclusion that it is an unimaginative reiteration of well-worn ideology leading to tighter bureaucratic control instead of an innovative new policy with a much needed liberalization in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) religious policy.
The guiding presumption behind government policy is stated in Article 11: “Religious bodies have the following duties: To accept administrative supervision lawfully carried out by the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) and other relevant departments and to educate citizens believing in religion in patriotism, socialism and the legal system.”
This underlying assumption of the right of the state and the CCP to dictate religious policy and indoctrinate its religious citizens is a continuation of policy guidelines laid down in 1982 by the Central Committee of the CCP in “Document 19” and re-stated by them in “Document 6” in 1991.
The role of the government in maintaining control of religious affairs is also stated clearly in Article 6: “Religious Affairs Bureau of local governments of all levels higher than county level are in charge of religious affairs within their respective administrative region.”
“Freedom of religious belief” as narrowly defined by the CCP is still only officially enjoyed by the five major religions of Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism. Only the “patriotic” religious organizations receive any official recognition. Article 7 states categorically that only the existing patriotic religious bodies -- the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), the China Christian Council, the Catholic Patriotic Association and their Buddhist, Daoist and Muslim counterparts -- are “established legally.”
To establish a religious organization “registration procedures should be followed in accordance with national regulations.” (Article 9) These national registration requirements are not detailed. But no mention is made of independent house churches or the possibility of them registering directly with the government. The distinct impression is given that no major changes will be made to the present system under which all religious believers have to belong to religious organizations controlled by the patriotic associations if they wish to be legally recognized by the government.
At the grassroots level, reports have filtered out from Shanghai, Zhejiang and Sichuan in recent months that local officials have been approaching known house church leaders to discuss registration and the possibility of bypassing the TSPM. However, the absence of any mention of this in the new regulations casts doubt on the government’s sincerity.
At most, it appears that such registration bypassing the patriotic religious associations may be only a temporary ploy. In fact, some house church leaders are convinced that the present stress on registration is merely a second “wave,” following policy started a few years ago. The ultimate aim may still be to control and eliminate the house churches. In the meantime, discussion on the details of registration can be a useful tool to promote further division in house church ranks.
The notorious “Three Fixes,” which have been a straitjacket for the TSPM for many years, are enshrined officially in Articles 13 to 15.
“The names of all religious workers must be filed with their Religious Affairs Bureau. Individuals who are not approved or filed are not allowed to engage in any religious activities under the title of religious worker.” (Article 13)
“All religious activities have to be conducted within the confines of religious sites lawfully registered.” (Article 14)
“Preachers cannot go outside their own area to evangelize or preach without first ‘filing with the relevant Religious Affairs Bureau.’” (Article 15)
Thus the CCP seeks to prevent lay ministry and all unregistered house church activity.
Ministry within the TSPM churches is severely limited. The bureaucratic mindset of the CCP is revealed in Article 16, which defines permitted “religious activities” narrowly as certain rites such as “praying, reading scripture, giving sermons, observing religious holidays and holding funeral services, etc.”
All mention of religion as an all-encompassing way of life -- which includes, for Christians, evangelism, the teaching and training of children and youth and showing social concern -- is excluded.
Foreign religious believers do not escape the CCP’s attention. Articles 32-35 spell out the severe limitations they must accept in China. Foreigners meeting for worship must obtain the permission of the RAB and meet on “patriotic” premises (for Christians, TSPM churches). Evangelism and the distribution of religious literature are forbidden. “No foreign nationals should seek to convert Chinese citizens.” Nor should they “distribute any religious printed materials.” (Article 37)
No less than five articles (38-42) lay down draconian penalties for all Chinese who disobey the regulations. Fines of between 500 and 2,000 RMB may be imposed on all those who:
· Establish religious organizations without permission.
· Engage in religious activities as religious workers without approval from the government.
· Cross [internal Chinese] boundaries to engage in religious activities without permission [a clear reference to evangelism].
· Hold religious activities in places not yet registered with the RAB.
Worse still, those who set up “religious activity sites without registration” may be fined between 2,000 and 20,000 RMB. The lower amount is easily the annual wage for many rural believers -- the latter is several years’ income. The authorities also threaten confiscation of income and property.
Millions of house church Christians who are worshipping and evangelizing peacefully outside the government-controlled system face ruin if these penalties are strictly imposed.
These regulations represent all that is bad in the CCP’s system of religious control, which, faced with the grass-roots revival of religions, has become progressively more detailed over the last 20 years. Voices of reason and moderation who have spoken out from time to time within the “patriotic” religious associations appear to have been ignored. The old slogans and ideological framework have been revamped. An opportunity for enlightened reform has been lost.
The future for religious believers who for reasons of conscience feel unable to accept these restrictive regulations looks dark if the rules are strictly implemented.
[Return to Index]
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(2) China’s Anti-Cult Campaign in Context
Difficulties Abound in Sorting Out a Confusing Situation
by Xu Mei
In late April, reports filtered out from China that about 100 leaders of the evangelical China Gospel Fellowship -- a major house church grouping that claims some four million members -- had been arrested by the police. Soon after, contradictory but more reliable reports said these key leaders had almost certainly been kidnapped by the sinister Lightning from the East (LFE) cult in a carefully orchestrated strategy.
This bizarre event shows how confusing the situation can be for Chinese Christians -- and even more so for overseas observers.
Some Western Christians who tend to always place blame on the Chinese authorities were brought up short. As the Chinese government’s crackdown on cults continues and reports of both cultic activity and of persecution of genuine house church believers continue to emerge, it is necessary to stand back, take stock, and analyze the entire situation. It is crucial for Western Christians and those concerned for human rights not to jump to ill-informed conclusions but to see often confusing and contradictory events in their overall context.
The Reality of Cults in China Today
The vast revival of religion since the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) has spawned a bewildering variety of sects, cults and new religions. Maoist ideology has failed to satisfy Chinese spiritual aspirations. The void has filled with a plethora of religious sects, which the government has growing difficulty in categorizing.
If some 70 percent of the population are peasants, then over 800 million people are living in semi-literacy and poverty, prone to superstition, witchcraft and magic.
The five religions tolerated by the authorities -- Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism -- are like icebergs floating in a murky ocean that conceals depths of folk-religion, bizarre cults and outright fanaticism. Witches and shamans beat the spirits out of possessed or mentally ill patients. People die because of exorcisms and false promises of faith healing.
In late 1998, members of the pseudo-Christian cult Lightning from the East “armed with daggers, steel bars, and powdered lime lured their victims out of their villages under the pretext of praying for the relief of illness, but disfigured their victims, breaking their legs and cutting off their ears,” a May 2000 Tianfeng article stated. LFE’s belief that Christ has returned as a Chinese woman living in Henan province is completely heretical from a Christian standpoint, but not necessarily a punishable offense. However, any government would take action against those who rape, steal, injure and even murder under the cloak of sectarian religious activities.
The Historical Background
The Chinese have a long history -- and a long memory. The government is well aware that over the centuries most dynasties fell when impoverished and desperate peasants formed into religious cults and secret societies that sooner or later mutated into open rebellion. The Red Turbans and the White Lotus were examples of Daoist or Buddhist sects that rose up against the emperor.
However, the most recent rebellion came from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which seized Nanjing as its capital from the decadent Manchu Qing dynasty in 1853 and was only suppressed 11 years later at the cost of 20 million lives. The Taiping ”emperor,” Hong Xiuquan, was a failed Confucian scholar who had read a Christian tract and had visions that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, sent to this earth to destroy the “demon” Manchus.
Many missionaries were initially impressed by the Taiping fervor for the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath Day. Could this be God’s means for the evangelization of China? But Hong’s brutal slaughter of his opponents and his vast harem brought bitter disillusionment.
Today, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) no longer extols the Taipings as peasant revolutionaries as in the radical Maoist years. The CCP is poised to welcome capitalists and entrepreneurs into its ranks. Some Party cadres wear designer suits and hold lavish banquets costing more than 10 years’ income of the average farmer.
China already has a huge number of rural unemployed. Urban unemployment is expected to triple over the next four years as reforms initiated by China’s membership in the World Trade Organization bankrupt uncompetitive industries, according to an April 29 Reuters/China Daily report. Only three years ago, Beijing was rocked by the demonstrations of 10,000 Falun Gong supporters outside the CCP leadership compound.
Is it any wonder that the suppression of sects and cults, seen as the spawning ground of political disaffection and rebellion, is now a top priority for what has become an intensely conservative and reactive rather than proactive regime? “Unity and Stability” at all costs has become the CCP’s mantra.
Defining Cults
In April 2000 the Ministry of Public Security defined a cult as any organization which:
· Sets up an illegal organization in the false name of religion.
· Deifies its leaders.
· Fabricates and spreads superstition and heterodox beliefs to excite doubts and deceive the people and recruits and controls its members by these means.
· Systematically disturbs social order and injures the lives and property of citizens.
This is a catch-all list of regulations that can be used to ban virtually any religious organization. Most house churches can be falsely labeled cults under the first, third and fourth points. All house churches that have not registered are illegal and members are potentially liable to arrests and fines. Those that spread the gospel vigorously can be accused of spreading heterodox beliefs and recruiting followers.