Conference yukon::christian_v7

From:	US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 16-FEB-1994 18:43:31.51
To:	pobox::lovik
CC:	
Subj:	 

7 foreign Christians detained then freed

The Hongkong Standard. February 16, 1994.

HONGKONG - Seven Christians, including two locals, arrived back safely on
Tuesday after five days' detention in China.

The group -- three Americans, two Hong Kong Chinese and two Indonesians of
the American-based Revival Christian Church in Hong Kong -- were arrested in
a midnight swoop by police in Fangcheng in Henan province on 10 February,
the first day of the Lunar New Year.

They had arrived in Henan two days earlier.

The three Chinese citizens who were detained with the group are still held
there.

Amnesty International said Revival Christian Church pastor Dennis Balcombe,
Daughin Chan and Paul Star, all US citizens, were placed under house arrest
in a guest house in Fengcheng following their detention by the Public 
Security Bureau on Thursday.

Detained with them were Hong Kong citizens Kok Fai-kwok and May Chong and
Indonesian nationals Bam Bang Yang and Ina Yang.

The 10 were believed to be the first Christians detained under new 
legislation curbing religion which took effect on 31 January.

Chinese authorities had accused the team of conducting illegal activities.

Cathy Balcombe, wife of Mr. Balcombe, said her husband and his companions 
returned from China late yesterday, exhausted and hungry.

Amnesty had urged China to release the detainees, saying they were "at risk
of being held without charge" for carrying out "peaceful religious 
activities."

Amnesty said the detainees "should be released unconditionally and if not
they should be charged with recognisable criminal offenses in accordance
with international law".

Revival Church worker Sybil Lam said she spoke to Mr. Kok and Miss Chong
after their release.

She said the trip was not an official church visit.

"They were there to visit Christian friends," she said.

The church had connections with Christian groups on the mainland, she added,
and a US-based Christian organization said Mr. Balcombe, who had kept up 
"friendly ties" with Chinese Christians for the past 20 years.

Miss Lam said she feared that the detainees would harm the church's prospects
after Britain handed over the reins of power to Beijing.

"I want this to be kept low profile for the future of my church in Hong Kong,
especially with 1997 coming soon."

She said Mr. Kwok and Miss Chong had told her that they did not want their
families to know of the arrests.

From:	US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 17-FEB-1994 10:28:52.05
To:	pobox::lovik
CC:	
Subj:	US missionaries, held in China, now back in Hong Kong

US missionaries, held in China, now back in Hong Kong

DATELINE: HONG KONG  PRIORITY: Rush  WORD COUNT: 0252
Agence France Presse English Wire       DATE: February 15, 1994  12:35 GMT

A group of Hong Kong-based US Christian missionaries returned to the colony
Tuesday  after being detained for five days under China's sweeping new laws
to control religious activity.

Cathy  Balcombe,  wife of Reverend Dennis Balcombe of the Revival Christian
Church, said her husband and his companions returned from China late in the
day, exhausted and hungry.

"They  are  very  tired,"  she  said,  adding  that Balcombe was not giving
interviews for the time being.

Amnesty  International  had  earlier said that a total of 10 Christians had
been  detained  in  central  China last week, but the US embassy in Beijing
said Tuesday that the three Americans among them had been freed.

Two  Indonesians, two Hong Kong residents, and three Chinese detained along
with  the Americans were apparently still being held by the Public Security
Bureau in Henan province, the London-based human rights group reported.

They   were  believed  to  be  the  first  Christians  detained  under  new
regulations  governing  religion  which took effect January 31 and restrict
the religious activities of foreigners in China.

The  US  embassy  said  in  a  statement  it had been informed by the Henan
authorities that "the American Christians were released this morning."

Police  and  religious  affairs  bureau  officials in the central province,
contacted  by  AFP  by  telephone,  said  they  were  "unaware of the whole
affair."

From:	US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 17-FEB-1994 10:41:25.34
To:	pobox::lovik
CC:	
Subj:	U.S. blasts China for arrest of foreign missionaries

U.S. blasts China for arrest of foreign missionaries

  WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- 
  The U.S. criticized China on Wednesday for detaining seven foreign
missionaries, including three Americans freed after four days in custody,
saying the incident could affect the renewal of China's most-favored-nation
(MFN) trade status.
  "It will certainly be one of the considerations that we look at when the
decision on MFN is looked at," State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly
said.
  Shelly said the seven foreigners were arrested last Friday on charges of
violating regulations on religious activities but U.S. authorities only
learned of the detention four days afterward from a relative of one of the
detainees.
  Three Americans among those arrested were released Friday, she said.
  "Certainly, it is a point of concern to us," Shelly said at a daily State
Department briefing.
  Asked whether the incident would cause a setback to China's bid for MFN
renewal this year, Shelly said, "I certainly wouldn't characterize it as a
step forward."
  President Bill Clinton has until June to decide whether to renew China's MFN
status, tying an extension this year to an "overall significant improvement"
in human rights in China.
  Secretary of State Warren Christopher said recently China needs to make more
progress on human rights to merit further extension of the low-tariff regime.

From:	US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 17-FEB-1994 10:41:33.59
To:	pobox::lovik
CC:	
Subj:	China Didn't Tell U.S. Officials That It Detained 3 Americans      

China Didn't Tell U.S. Officials That It Detained 3 Americans      

   WASHINGTON - The State Department expressed concern Wednesday over the
failure of Chinese authorities to tell U.S. officials of the recent
detention of three American clergymen.
   The three were among seven foreign clergymen who were held for 5 days
for violating regulations on religious activities.
   The others were two Hong Kong Chinese and two Indonesians.
   The clerics belong to Christian Solidarity International, a U.S.-based
group that promotes religious freedom. The Americans were identified
as the Rev. Dennis Balcombe, Paul Fergusson and Daughin Chan.
   State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly said U.S. officials
learned of the arrests 3 days afterward from a relative of one
detainee.
   ''We are concerned that Chinese officials did not promptly notify the
embassy about the detention of the U.S. citizens,'' she said.
   Asked whether the arrests were a step backwards in China's
human-rights performance, Shelly said, ''I certainly wouldn't
characterize it as a step forward.''
   The administration has said China's human-rights record will be
assessed in determining whether to extend the low tariff rates it has
on its U.S. exports.
   Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who visited China last month to look into
the human-rights situation, said, ''We're seeing significant
regression,'' in China's policies.

guh.... angry... heartbreaking... frustrating... praying... peace... God is in
control!!!

From:	US3RMC::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 14-MAR-1994 12:16:01.62
To:	pobox::lovik
CC:	
Subj:	China persecutes Christians, Buddhists say witnesses

China persecutes Christians, Buddhists say witnesses

DATELINE: WASHINGTON  PRIORITY: Urgent  WORD COUNT: 0396
Agence France Presse English Wire       DATE: March 10, 1994  00:12 GMT

Religious persecution of Christians and Buddhists has worsened in China and
Tibet  since  President  Bill  Clinton  extended  most-favored-nation trade
status last year, witnesses said Wednesday.

There  have  been  other  allegations  of  human  rights  abuses  recently,
including  the  arrest  of  at  least eight activists, including celebrated
dissident Wei Jingsheng. Some were later released.

But  a  less  visible  campaign is underway aimed at stamping out religious
practices  of  the  estimated  one  million  Chinese who worship in private
homes, human rights and religious experts said at a congressional hearing.

China  has  not even come close to making the progress that would allow the
administration,  in  good  conscience  to  extend  trade  privileges,  said
Representative  Chris  Smith,  a  Republican  from  New Jersey who led a US
delegation to China two months ago.
Secretary  of  State  Warren  Christopher  is  expected in Beijing over the
weekend, where he has said he would press the Chinese government to improve
its human rights record.

"I  hope when Secretary Christopher meets with the Chinese leadership later
this  week,  he will emphasize our revulsion and outrage at China's vicious
campaign  of  religious persecution," said Tom Lantos chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs subcommittee on human rights.

Six  weeks  ago Chinese Premier Li Peng signed decrees banning unauthorized
religious ceremonies and foreign missionaries from working in China.

"These  laws  legitimize the authorities to arrest anyone whom they dislike
in  the  name  of  illegal  religious  activities,"  said Joseph M.C. Kung,
president of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, a US group working for religious
freedom for Roman Catholics in China.

Since  China's  most  favored nation trade status was extended, Beijing has
continued  to persecute Tibetans for their religious and political beliefs,
said Lodi Gyari, president of the International Campaign for Tibet.

Jeffrey  Hopkins,  director  of  the  Center for South Asian Studies at the
University  of Virginia, said he had travelled to Tibet five times and seen
signs of increasing Chinese domination of the region.

"The Chinese government's suppression of monks and nuns in Tibet has always
been violent but is now immediate and for minor reasons," he said.

From:	US3RMC::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 14-MAR-1994 15:20:09.14
To:	pobox::lovik
CC:	
Subj:	China hits back at religious critics

China hits back at religious critics

DATELINE: BEIJING  PRIORITY: Rush  WORD COUNT: 0370
Agence France Presse English Wire       DATE: March 10, 1994  08:19 GMT

The  Chinese government hit back Thursday at renewed foreign accusations of
religious  persecution and defended recent regulations aimed at restricting
the religious activities of foreigners in China.

"Foreigners  in China should respect China's laws, refrain from harming the
public  interest  of  Chinese  society  and should not interfere in China's
religious  affairs  through  whatever  means," a foreign ministry spokesman
said.

The  spokesman was responding to comments made in Bonn on Tuesday by German
Foreign  Minister  Klaus  Kinkel,  who  said  he  was "concerned by the new
Chinese  laws  on  religion  which have introduced a further restriction on
freedom of belief and to the arrest of Chinese and foreign Christians."

A  stronger  denunciation  came  from  the chairman of the US House Foreign
Affairs  subcommittee  on  human  rights,  Tom  Lantos,  when  he called on
Secretary  of  State  Warren  Christopher,  who  arrives  here  Friday,  to
"emphasise  our  revulsion  and  outrage  at  China's  vicious  campaign of
religious persecution."

Fearful  of  a  possible  challenge  to  its  own  authority,  the  Chinese
government  issued  new  regulations,  which  took  effect  January  31, to
strengthen  control  over religious practice and limit ties between Chinese
and foreign believers.

The   regulations  "are  not  for  the  purpose  of  restricting  religious
freedoms,"  the spokesman said, "but fully show that the Chinese government
respects  the  freedom  of  belief  of  foreigners  in  China  and  Chinese
citizens."

However, he also stressed that "China's religious bodies are not subject to
foreign control."

A  group  of  American, Indonesian and Hong Kong missionaries were detained
for   five   days  last  month  for  having  "conducted  illegal  religious
activities" in violation of the new regulations.

The  foreign missionaries eventually returned to Hong Kong, but the fate of
three local Chinese Christians detained at the same time remains unknown.

"We must protectct normal religious activities and protect the cultural and
academic  exchanges  in  the  field  of religion between foreigners and the
religious circles in China," the spokesman said.

    In yesterday's San Jose Mercury there was an article stating that the
    Chinese Government will not give way to pressures from Bill Clinton
    for more human rights in China.  They also stated that the Chinese
    market is well established and self sufficient without the U.S. market
    and could care less if the U.S. stops trade with China.
    
    

From:	US3RMC::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 12-MAY-1994 18:39:15.34
To:	pobox::lovik
CC:	
Subj:	China Paroles Jailed Christian

Subject: China Paroles Jailed Christian
Date: Thu, 12 May 94 11:40:36 PDT

	BEIJING (AP) -- A Chinese woman jailed since 1990 on charges of
attempting to overthrow the government through religious activities
has been paroled, the official Xinhua news agency said Thursday.
	China's legislature, meanwhile, approved a measure that gives
police new justification for detaining and arresting dissidents.
The law spells out 18 new grounds for detention, including forming
a social organization without government approval and ``fabricating
or distorting facts, spreading rumors or otherwise disrupting
public order.''
	These conflicting moves -- releasing a dissident even while
clamping down on dissent -- illustrate China's ambivalent response
to a U.S. threat to sharply raise tariffs on Chinese exports if the
government does not improve its human rights record.
	President Clinton faces a June 3 deadline for deciding whether
China's treatment of dissidents, religious believers and Tibetans
has improved enough to merit renewing its most-favored-nation trade
status, which entitles it to low tariffs. Billions of dollars worth
of trade is at stake.
	Chinese President Jiang Zemin, meeting Thursday with former
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, reiterated China's rejection of
the linkage between trade and human rights. He said U.S.-China
relations can flourish only if both sides set ideology aside.
	However, the release of Zhang Ruiyu, is the latest of several
small, relatively painless moves China has taken in apparent hope
of winning credit in Washington.
	The government allowed a prominent political prisoner, Wang
Juntao, to travel to the United States for medical treatment last
month. And on Wednesday, dissident legal scholar Yu Haocheng said
he was finally given permission to travel to the United States
after four years of being denied a passport.
	Zhang, 54, a teacher at a physical education academy in Fujian
province, southeast China, was one of millions of Chinese
Christians who hold religious services in private homes, shunning
the government-supervised churches. Such services are banned.
	The government has closed down hundreds of ``house churches''
over the past few years and detained hundreds of Christians,
international human rights groups say.
	Zhang was arrested in August 1990 and sentenced in September
1991 to four years imprisonment on charges of holding illegal
religious meetings and attempting to overthrow the government
through them, according to Asia Watch, a U.S. human rights group.
	However, the Xinhua News Agency said Zhang was convicted in
1990. The conflicting accounts could not immediately be explained.
	Xinhua said a court paroled Zhang because she behaved well in
jail, but it did not say when she left prison.
	Asia Watch said police raided Zhang's home three months before
her arrest and confiscated Bibles and religious literature. It said
police knocked out some of her teeth and burned her face with
electric batons.
	Zhang already had been imprisoned twice for a total of more than
seven years before her 1990 arrest, Asia Watch said. She also took
part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, it said.

From:	US4RMC::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok"  2-JUN-1994 19:53:20.65
To:	pobox::lovik
CC:	
Subj:	(AP) China Police Detain Christians

Subject: (AP) China Police Detain Christians
Date: Thu, 2 Jun 94 8:00:18 PDT

 	BEIJING (AP) -- Beijing police have detained at least one labor
activist and six Christians in a crackdown on dissent ahead of the
fifth anniversary of the army attack that quashed the Tiananmen
Square democracy movement.
	Wang Zhongqiu, 27, a postgraduate law student from Beijing
University, was secretly taken into custody last week and has not
been heard from since, a fellow student and friend said Thursday.
The friend did not give his name.
	Wang was a principal organizer of the Chinese Association for
Protecting Workers' Rights, a non-official labor organization whose
other main organizers are either in custody or are thought to be in
hiding. Labor activism outside of state-run unions is illegal.
	The friend said Wang's detention appeared related to the
tightened police security in Beijing ahead of the anniversary of
the June 3-4 army attack that ended seven weeks of protests in
Tiananmen Square in 1989, and left hundreds of people dead.
	Meanwhile, authorities cut the telephone of a couple whose son
was killed in the army attack.
	Professors Jiang Peikun and Ding Zilin had threatened a hunger
strike tonight through Saturday if police kept up a round-the-clock
surveillance of their home and continued harassing their visitors.
	Ding had said they would remain at home and told journalists to
call to learn if they were on hunger strike. But their telephone
went unanswered all evening, and a friend said it had been cut.
	Extra police patrols circulated in the square and university
district that spawned the student-led protests. Government workers
were also advised to stay home at night and some foreign reporters
were tailed.
	Some tourist hotels with cable television service said today
they had been ordered to stop showing Cable News Network for the
next few days, apparently out of concern it might air footage from
the 1989 protests.
	Wang's detention, thought to have taken place last Thursday or
Friday, coincided with President Clinton's announcement that he was
cutting the link between China's human rights conduct and its U.S.
trading privileges, known as most-favored-nation status.
	Police also detained six Christians who worshipped together,
said Hua Huiqi, one of the six. He said he was held from Monday
through Wednesday.
	Worship outside of government-sponsored churches is forbidden in
China.
	Hua said police came to his home Thursday to detain him again,
but he wasn't home.
	``This is a problem of belief, we haven't broken the law,'' he
said in a telephone interview.
	Hua said Wang Huamin, Gao Feng, Wu Rengang, Xu Honghai and Gou
Qinghui were detained last weekend. All but Gao Feng, a 26-year-old
car worker, are known to have been released, he said.

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok"  6-JUN-1994 19:02:02.33
To:	icthus::yuille
Subj:	(AP) Tiananmen Uprising Marked

Subject: (AP) Tiananmen Uprising Marked
Date: Sat, 4 Jun 94 14:10:07 PDT

	BEIJING (AP) -- On the fifth anniversary of the army attack on
the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement, dissidents in
Shanghai applied for permission to form a human rights group.
	But police arrested one of the would-be founders of the group
late Friday night, his friends said in telephone calls from
Shanghai. They said police had been watching Bao Ge for weeks
before taking him from his home just before midnight.
	Bao began contacting Western journalists on Friday to announce
the application for a human rights group, called the Voice of Human
Rights. His friends said they mailed the application to the Civil
Affairs Ministry in Beijing on Saturday.
	Bao, a Christian, had planned to go to church Saturday morning
to pray for those killed in the June 3-4, 1989, army attack on
pro-democracy protesters in Beijing, his friends said. They spoke
on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest.
	The army attack ended seven weeks of student-led marches,
sit-ins and hunger strikes in Beijing and lesser demonstrations in
nearly 100 cities nationwide. The demonstrators wanted more open
government and an end to official corruption, but the Communist
leadership feared loss of its absolute power and refused to
negotiate.
	Shanghai activists tried in 1993 to form a citywide Human Rights
Association but were refused permission.
	In Beijing, the only publicly declared protest action on the
anniversary was a hunger strike by a Chinese couple whose son was
killed by the army.
	Police barred would-be visitors to the home of the fasting
couple, People's University professors Jiang Peikun and Ding Zilin.
The university switchboard refused to connect telephone calls to
their apartment. The couple said when they began the hunger strike
Thursday night that they would continue through Saturday.
	Tiananmen Square, the center of the 1989 protests, remained open
throughout Saturday. But extra police patrols, both plainclothes
and uniformed, were evident, especially after dark.
	Some police videotaped tourists and local residents strolling,
talking or flying kites on the square. Others did identification
checks and searched people's bags.
	But no protests were reported. Many leaders of the 1989
demonstrations went out of town for the anniversary to avoid
trouble.
	In Hong Kong, thousands joined a candlelight vigil in memory of
those killed in 1989. The army attack made many people in Hong Kong
fear for their future when China recovers sovereignty of the colony
from Britain in 1997. One million people took to Hong Kong's
streets in protest after the June 4 attack.
	Han Dongfang, a labor activist who was prominent in the 1989
democracy movement but now lives in exile in Hong Kong, said:
``Memory is painful but we cannot forget.''
	``Let us pray for those who committed the massacre and hope they
will soon see the light,'' he told the crowd. Police said 12,000
attended, while organizers estimated 40,000.
	For many, the passions kindled five years ago have been dampened
by apathy and resignation. Those who hoped the 1989 protests
presaged the downfall of Chinese communism have been disappointed.
	``My feelings,'' said 26-year-old social worker Eric Li, ``have
changed from intense excitement to helplessness.''
	All day Saturday, people came to the office of the New China
News Agency, Beijing's de facto embassy in Hong Kong, laying
wreaths and bunches of flowers outside and bowing to the memory of
the 1989 victims.
	In Shanghai, police began arresting most known pro-democracy
activists in March and April. Yang Qibing was arrested Wednesday
for the second time in a month.
	Friends of Bao Ge, who wanted to form the Voice of Human Rights,
said the group already had 167 prospective members in Shanghai and
that people in Xian, Wuhan, Fuzhou and other cities were interested
in joining.


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From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 13-JUN-1994 23:28:23.31
To:	distribution:;@vbormc.vbo.dec.com (see end of body)
CC:	distribution:;@vbormc.vbo.dec.com (see end of body)
Subj:	March for Jesus


----- Begin Included Message -----

From [email protected] Fri Jun 10 17:30 PDT 1994
Date: Fri, 10 Jun 1994 17:01:00 -0700
From: Ming Lam <[email protected]>
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Content-Type: text
Content-Length: 4817

Path: voysys.com!netcomsv!halsoft.com!news.hal.COM!olivea!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!newsserver.jvnc.net!igor.rutgers.edu!geneva.rutgers.edu!christian
From: [email protected] (Tom Ford)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: June 25, March for Jesus
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 10 Jun 94 04:53:35 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: Engineering, Convex Computer Corporation, Richardson, Tx USA
Lines: 93
Approved: [email protected]

Here is a press release from March for Jesus USA, typos are mine.

===========
Global Event Unites People in 170 Nations

On June 25, 1994, an unprecedented global event will unite more than 15 million
people throughout 170 nations.  This worldwide event, March for Jesus, will
bring Christians form all walks of life together for what is expected to be the
most massive praise and prayer gathering in the history of the world.  Marches
will begin in New Zealand as the sun rises and continue around the globe 
through every time zone.

"People of every denomination, race, and affiliation will come together as 
never before," said Tom Pelton, National Coordinator of March for Jesus, U.S.A.
and Coorinator for the Americas.  "There is no political agenda, no social 
agenda or protests taking place, but rather a celebration designed to bring 
whole communities together."

Marchers will sing down city streets with colorful banners and balloons and the
march will conclude with a prayer rally for the city. Mayors, city council 
members, and even governors are expected to participate in many of the marches.

		Marches Around the World

North America:
- Marches are planned in every state in the U.S. with 500 cities and an 
  expected 1.5 million people participating.
- In Los Angeles the march will be held near the sigh of the L.A. riots.  
  Christians of all racial groups will march together in a demonstration of 
  unity and reconcilliation.
- Inmates in prisons across the nation will participate with prayer meetings
  and marches in prisons, including inmates on death row in San Quentin.
- In Canada, marches are planned in 85 cities.  Some marches will meet U.S.
  marches at the border as a statement of unity.
- The march in New York City will conclude with prayer in front of the United
  Nations Building.

Africa:
- Blacks and whites will march together in South Africa.  The nation will see
  hundreds of marches as a celebration of reconciliation and healing.
- In Burundi, the government is providing equipment for the marches, because
  March for Jesus is the only event that has brought warring tribes together.
- Ghana expects to have 500,000 participants for their march.

Asia:
- More than two million will gather in Seoul, Korea at Yoida Plaza for a prayer
  rally. 
- In Japan, 10,000 are expected to march in 10 cities.
- In China more than one million will participate in prayer walks linked by 
  radio.
- Six cities in India are planning marches.
- In Indonesia 17 cities are planning prayer rallies.
- More than 700,000 are expected to march in the Phillippines.

Europe:
- In Serbia, Muslims, Christians, and Jews are meeting to pray for peace in 
  preparation for the march.
- More than 50,000 are expected to march in London, England.
- Berlin expects more than 100,000 marchers.
- Organizers in Dublin and Belfast are working together for a nation-wide march
  in Ireland to be held 30 miles north of Dublin on the Dublin-Belfast road.

Latin America:
- The march in Sao Paulo, Brazil was the largest in the world last year with
  300,000 participating.  This year Sao Paulo expects to see more than one
  million in their march.
- Lima, Peru is planning a march of 100,000.
- The march in Argentina will be the largest gathering of Christians in the
  the history of the nation.
- Marches are being held in every nation of South and Central America.

Middle East:
- In Muslim nations not open to Christianity, private prayer walks will be held.

Russia:
- Marches are planned in Moscow, St. Petersburg and many other cities.

Pacific:
- In Fiji, 100,000 are expected to participate through nation-wide radio links
  with Australia and New Zealand.


			History of the March

  March for Jesus began in 1987 in London, England with a march of 15,000.  
Within two years it had grown to 200,000 in 600 locations throughout England.
In August of 1991, Tom Pelton, a pastor in Austin, Texas, founded March For 
Jesus, U.S.A.. 
  On May 23, 1992, March fo Jesus was linked internationally for the first 
time.  On that day 300,000 participated in 150 cities in the United States and
another 300,000 participated in 24 other nations.
  Last year's march held on June 12, 1993 drew over 800,000 in 350 cities in
the U.S. and almost one million in 46 other nations.


----- End Included Message -----


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        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Cc: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected]
%%% end overflow headers %%%

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% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
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% Subject: March for Jesus
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Subject: Chinese Christians Seek Help
Date: Mon, 1 Aug 94 19:10:15 PDT

	BEIJING (AP) -- In a bold move, a group of young Chinese
Christians on Monday issued an appeal to believers worldwide for
prayer and support for imprisoned Christian activists.
	Chinese Christians have suffered decades of persecution under
the Communist government and have avoided political activities
because that could put them in even greater danger.
	But a group of young Christians in Beijing has quietly linked
hands with democracy activists, inviting them to prayer and Bible
study meetings. In recent months, several Christians have been
arrested for associating with dissidents.
	The group, which calls itself ``Beijing Christian Sacred Love
Fellowship,'' appealed to church members and ``everyone in the
world who loves democracy and freedom'' to help it to ``win the
release of our brothers who have been arrested and to restore the
job of our brother who has been fired.''
	Issuing the appeal puts the members in greater danger because,
in addition to their religious and political activities, the
Christians have publicly contacted foreign reporters.
	The group said its ties with the dissident community stem from
the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement, when some members
joined the protests and even participated in the founding of an
underground labor union.
	Since then, they have invited dissidents to prayer meetings and
Bible study sessions. Among the leading democracy activists who
attended was Wei Jingsheng, China's most famous dissident, who
spent more than 14 years in prison for his pro-democracy
activities.
	``We fervently love the Lord and are concerned about democracy
and human rights,'' the group said in a statement.
	It detailed the experiences of seven Christians who have been
detained or arrested in recent weeks for their contacts with
dissidents.
	Among them were Liu Huanwen, who was arrested on July 10. Liu
converted to Christianity 12 years ago and has been active in youth
fellowship activities since then. He served a two-year labor camp
sentence for leading young believers from his church to join the
protests and for holding a post in the underground labor union.
	Gao Feng, 26 and a Christian since 1991, was detained by police
for a month this summer because he had prayed for the souls of
those killed during the 1989 military crackdown and complained
about the status of democracy and human rights in China.
	Gao was an employee of Beijing Jeep Corp., a joint venture with
the U.S. Chrysler Corp., but the company suspended him for missing
work while he was in detention.
	Xiao Biguang, who grew up in a Christian home, was arrested
April 12 for preaching Christianity, particularly to dissidents,
and holding meetings in his home for prayer and Bible study. His
wife teaches at Beijing's Yanjing Seminary.
	The others -- Wu Rengang, Liu Fenggang, Hua Huiqi and Xu Yonghai
-- have been detained or summoned by police for preaching
Christianity, having contacts with dissidents or holding church
meetings in their homes.
	China's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but
proselytizing is illegal. Christians are allowed to worship only in
officially sanctioned churches, but many believers are suspicious
of the official clergy and prefer to meet in unofficial home
churches.



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% Date: Tue, 2 Aug 1994 14:18:30 +0800
% From: [email protected] (Charles Mok)
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: Chinese Christians Seek Help.
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII
% Content-Length: 3318

Apologies for late posting - due to vacation and other interruptions...
								Andrew

Subject: Chinese Christian Imprisoned
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 6:40:10 PDT

	BEIJING (AP) -- A Chinese Christian linked to dissidents and
labor activists has been sentenced to two years in a labor camp,
friends said Monday.
	Liu Huanwen is among at least 16 dissidents who have been
arrested or who have disappeared since the spring in Beijing and
Shanghai.
	The 32-year-old Liu was arrested July 10 when he went home to
get some clean clothes after staying with friends for an extended
period.
	Monday, his brother and friends went to the detention center
where he is being held and were told by police he had been
sentenced for ``hooliganism.'' Friends said police did not say what
he did that constituted hooliganism.
	Government offices were closed for the day when the friends
reported his sentence, making it impossible to confirm.
	``Now that the police have decided this fate for him, all we can
do is pray,'' said Gao Feng, a friend and Christian activist.
	Chinese police have the authority to sentence people to up to
three years of ``re-education through labor.'' Such sentencing
occurs outside the judicial system and there are no actual charges
or convictions.
	Liu served a previous two-year labor camp sentence for carrying
a cross during the height of the Tiananmen Square democracy
movement in 1989. He was released in April 1990, but like many
activists was the focus of police attention each year around the
anniversary of the June 4 military crackdown that crushed the
democracy movement.
	This year, Liu tried to avoid police by staying with friends.
Police told Liu's friends after his arrest that he had been picked
up for voyeurism.
	His friends believe he was arrested because of his friendship
with Xiao Biguang, another Christian who has tried to set up an
unofficial labor union. Xiao was arrested April 12.
	President Clinton decided in May not to link normal trade
relations with China to Beijing's human rights record. Human rights
group say Chinese authorities are cracking down on dissident
activity in the absence of international pressure.
	China's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but
proselytizing is illegal. Christians are allowed to worship only in
officially sanctioned churches, but many believers are suspicious
of the official clergy and prefer to meet in unofficial home
churches.


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% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
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Subject: Suspended Christian Reinstated
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 94 5:40:10 PDT

	BEIJING (AP) -- A Chrysler Corp. joint venture told a suspended
employee Friday to report back to his job after threatening to fire
him because he missed work while in police detention for his
religious beliefs.
	The case of Gao Feng, 26, a Christian, has been seen as a test
of how U.S. companies will behave now that President Clinton has
not made trade with China dependent on Beijing's human rights
practices.
	Police detained Gao for a month this summer in a crackdown on
dissent ahead of the fifth anniversary of the June 4, 1989, army
attack on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
	Gao had complained about the status of democracy and human
rights in China. Five other Christian friends were detained around
the same time but were released after a couple of days.
	When Gao went back to work on a production line at Beijing Jeep,
the joint venture with Chrysler told him he should have applied for
leave.
	When he explained he had been in police custody, the company
asked him to provide proof from police that he was in detention
during the month of June. But Gao said police refused.
	Beijing Jeep suspended him and gave him the choice of resigning
or being fired, Gao said. He refused to resign.
	Gao said the firm's personnel director, Cui Pinzhan, came to his
home Friday and told him to return to work Monday morning.
	He said neither Cui nor two other personnel managers who were
with him gave an explanation for the decision.
	``I'm so happy,'' Gao said. ``Of course, I believe it's (because
of) pressure from the outside world.''
	He said he had called Chrysler offices daily for the past week
and thought the American company felt a moral obligation to
reinstate him.
	Gao said he and his employers still have to work out whether to
count his time in detention as vacation or absence without leave.
	Beijing Jeep has not commented on the case and Chrysler
officials in the United States declined to take sides.
	U.S. businesses successfully lobbied Clinton this year not to
restrict trade with China as punishment for its spotty human rights
record, which includes restrictions on religion.
	They argued that freer trade and the continued presence of U.S.
companies in China would promote human rights by spreading American
values and pressuring Beijing to continue economic reforms.
	U.S. companies also have opposed a code of conduct that human
rights advocates want companies operating in China to adopt.


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% From: [email protected] (Charles Mok)
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: Suspended Christian Reinstated
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% Content-Length: 2511

    Probably won't hear of this in the new... Yesterday in church, a woman
    who is a missionary from China reported the following incident.
    
    A chinese Christian, who refused to renounce Jesus Christ as his Lord
    was handcuffed upside down. He was again asked to renounce Jesus, and
    when he refused, they poured boiling water on his head. They then
    brought the mans wife in and threatened to kill her, if he did not deny
    Christ, to which he again refused. They shot her in front of him. They
    then brought in his 2 children, and asked him again to deny Jesus. He
    again refused, and they then shot his children. 
    
    In another story she related, an army officer who was persecuting
    believers suddenly died, and many were saved because of it. In yet
    another, a policeman, who was attempting to arrest gathering Christians
    had his neck, and arm suddenly frozen (paralysis?) in a 'head turned to
    the right, arm pointing straight out" position. Later, when believers
    went to the police station, the man was healed, and the entire police
    department repented, and turned to God.
    
    There were a few more stories, but those were the ones I remembered.
    Please be sure to keep out brothers and sisters in this country in
    prayer. 
    
    Bob 

    Speaking of China and Chinese!
    
    I have a praise.  My previous roommates were able to bring their 4 year
    old son out of China! :-)  We had a wonderful get-together at a home
    where Victoria [the Chinese wife] was saved one year ago.  Bro. Hawtree
    preached a wonderful message and I was just blessed beyond my
    expectations.  
    
    Victoria gave her testimony before a group of around 30, which made me
    cry.  My son Matthew was there, and I noticed that it really affects
    him when he sees me respond tenderly to the things of God.  
    
    Praising God for one more soul out of China to serve God.
    

From: [email protected] (Stephen R Denney)
Subject: VN: Protestant Christians Persecuted
Date: 4 Sep 1994 07:20:58 GMT

NEWS OF THE PROTESTANT CHURCH IN VIETNAM

The following two reports are from Andrew Wark, correspondent for 
News Network International, in the May 10, 1994 issue of News 
Network International--News Service. Although this is a few months 
old, it should still be of interest. These two reports were 
subsequently published in the July 1994 issue of Open Doors, 
pentecostal Christian magazine, under the title: "Vietnam -- New 
Tactics Against Christians." Open Doors also reports the arrest of 
Hmong Christian leaders. Pastor Thao Tong was arrested on Jan. 10 
and accused by the government of "exploiting religion to break the 
law, and of keeping people from working productively for the 
country." It reported the arrest of eight other Hmong Christians, 
including Pastor Giang Di. It says 50,000 Hmong have converted to 
Christianity since 1989.
- Steve Denney

begin text: 

POLICE ARREST AND BRIEFLY DETAIN NINE TRIBAL CHRISTIANS: TWO 
CHILDREN AMONG THOSE DETAINED, by Andrew Wark
Hong Kong (NNI) -- Police in the southern Vietnamese highland 
province of Lam Dong arrested nine tribal house church Christians 
and two children on April 3, detaining the children for two days and 
the church members for 12 days, according to church sources in 
southern Vietnam. 
	Sources in Ho Chi Minh City said the arrests occurred after 
police, armed with batons, raided a house in the village of Tan Ha. 
The Christians, all members of tribal communities, had been 
conducting an Easter Sunday church service at the time of the raid 
and were reportedly told by police to lie on the ground and remain 
silent, or they would be beaten. 
	During an ensuing house search, police confiscated a small 
quantity of religious literature; as well as five Bibles, two 
motorcycles, several watches and a cassette recorder belonging to 
group members. 
	Police then handcuffed the nine church members and two 
children (ages 6 and 14) and marched the group nearly two miles 
(three km) south to a nearby town. Police confined the Christians in 
a warehouse for some three hours, after which they were 
transferred to the Lan Ha District police station. They were then 
separated and placed in unlit, poorly ventilated prison cells that 
were reportedly soiled with human excrement. 
	Sources say the mother of the two children unsuccessfully 
pleaded with prison authorities for their release. The officials 
finally agreed to the request on April 5, after both children became 
ill due to the unsanitary prison conditions. Prior to their release, 
their mother was reportedly forced to sign a document claiming 
police had not imprisoned either of the children during the incident. 
	The remaining church members were incarcerated for another 
nine days and were fed only a small bowl of rice daily. During their 
detention, sources say the group members were individually 
interrogated and threatened with further police action if they did 
not stop conducting "illegal religious activities" and holding "illegal 
assemblies." 
	One 19-year-old church member was reportedly struck on the 
side of the head by a police interrogator when he asked what the 
group had done wrong. 
	During their incarceration, all of the church members 
developed stomach ailments, due to the poor prison conditions. 
	The group was finally released on April 15, after each member 
was forced to sign a confession acknowledging their involvement in 
an "illegal religious assembly." At that time, police officials told 
the group they would return the two impounded motorcycles, the 
watches and the cassette recorder only if they paid the policemen 
$380. The officials stipulated that the amount must be paid within 
15 days of their release, or police would keep their belongings. 
	Relations between Vietnamese officials and tribal minority 
groups in the highland areas have long been tense. Church sources in 
Ho Chi Minh City say authorities habitually target Christian members 
of tribal groups for special scrutiny and police harassment. Despite 
the persecution, Christian leaders from many highland areas say 
tribal churches are growing at a faster rate than those in the 
lowland areas of Vietnam. 

POLICE RAIDS ON CHURCHES CONTINUE, by Andrew Wark, NNI 
Correspondent
HONG Kong (NNI) -- Tensions between police and unregistered 
Christian groups in southern and central Vietnam continue, ever 
since security forces began carrying out raids on house churches in 
Danang and Ho Chi Minh City beginning in February, according to 
house church sources. 
	In early April, Ho Chi Minh City police in the city's Binh Thanh 
district launched a raid on an unregistered church associated with 
Pastor Tran Dinh Ai's house church movement. While there were no 
reports of arrests during the raid, security officials reportedly 
threatened church members with further police action if they 
continue using the premises for "illegal assemblies." 
	The church group was fined 400,000 dong ($38), and 
authorities have reportedly placed the church premises under police 
surveillance. 
	Security forces in early April also raided a Ho Chi Minh City 
printing house that was being used to clandestinely print religious 
literature for distribution among House churches. It is still not 
known if there were any arrests made in connection with that raid. 
	The leader of another large house church movement said police 
had detained eleven of the group's members throughout southern 
Vietnam during Easter weekend and launched ten raids against the 
movement's meeting places. There are no further details available 
regarding these arrests and raids. 
	In February, security forces in the city of Danang, central 
Vietnam, broke up an unregistered church meeting, arresting all 30 
church members. Following the raid, at least five of the group's 
leaders were detained in a police lock-up for four days, before being 
fined $25 each and released. 
	While Hanoi has given indications over the past year that it is 
loosening its rigid grip on religion, house church leaders in Ho Chi 
Minh City say the religious atmosphere throughout southern and 
central Vietnam still fluctuates between periods of police 
harassment and seasons of relative religious freedom. 


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% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok"  9-SEP-1994 20:30:04.31
To:	icthus::yuille

Subject: (AP) Archbishop Visits China
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 94 6:40:07 PDT
	LONDON (AP) -- Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey leaves
London Thursday for a two-week visit to China.
	Carey, spiritual leader of the Church of England and head of 70
million Anglicans worldwide, will spend the weekend in Hong Kong
before traveling to Nanjing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Beijing.
	The visit to the communist country -- Carey's first as archbishop
-- is ``to encourage and support Chinese Christians,'' his office
said in a statement.
	He was invited by the Chinese Christian Council, a federation of
provincial and local Christian churches, founded in 1980.
	There are 12 million Christians in China, according to estimates
by the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland. A spokesman at
the Chinese Embassy in London said figures for the number of
Christians in China were not available.
	China's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but
proselytizing is illegal. Christians are allowed to worship only in
officially sanctioned churches, but many believers are suspicious
of the official clergy and prefer to meet in unofficial home
churches.
	Carey's predecessor, Robert Runcie, visited China in 1983.
	The archbishop and his wife, Eileen, return to London on Sept.
23.


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% Date: Fri, 9 Sep 1994 12:09:08 +0800
% From: [email protected] (Charles Mok)
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: (AP) Archbishop Visits China
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 12-SEP-1994 22:11:57.95
To:	icthus::yuille

Puebla Institute	1319 18th St. NW	Washington, DC  20036

Press Release		Sept. 7, 1994

Contact:	Nina Shea	Jean Louis Robadey	tel: 202/296-8050

VIETNAM REPRESSES RELIGIONS, DESPITE MARKET REFORMS, FINDS
PUEBLA INSTITUTE

        At a time when the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has achieved
full trade relations with the U.S. and seeks diplomatic
normalization, it still clings to the repressive political policies of
its Communist one-party system, particularly in repressing
religious freedom, reports a new 113-page study by the Puebla
Institute entitled VIETNAM: FREE MARKET, CAPTIVE CONSCIENCE.
        "The fundamental reality is that the Vietnamese Communist
authorities still claim control over belief and religious activity.
They use the harshest tactics -- arrests, imprisonment, torture, and
church demolitions -- where they feel they can get away with it,
that is, where the violence occurs outside the international
spotlight. The chief victims of the brutalities are the ethnic
minority Christians, such as the Hmong people, from the remote
mountain villages, the independent Buddhists who have few
proponents in the West, and the members of the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao
religions, which are indigenous to Vietnam. These groups are still
suffering the crudest forms of religious persecution" Puebla reports.
        By contrast, the Roman Catholics and the Protestants in the
urban areas, with their conspicuous ties to the West, are the chief
beneficiaries of recent reforms. For example, Vietnam has in recent
years allowed the reopening of a few seminaries, approved the
printing of a few thousand bibles, released from prison some
prominent Catholic clergy and all long-term Protestant pastors. Only
against the 40-year backdrop of the most severe religious
repression can such recent positive steps be considered significant,
however, While the reform measures are welcome, they do not
represent a break in the ideology of the regime. Vietnam's leaders
refuse to relinquish control over belief and religious activity. Even
the "well-connected" Christian groups suffer repression that is more
hidden and sophisticated.
        * ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Vietnam employs a repression strategy
of striking at the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchical structure,
rather than openly imprisoning clergy, though such persecution also
occurs among the ethnic highland peoples and others. The government
has sharply curtailed Church leadership both by barring bishops from
their posts and by stanching the flow of new vocations and
ordinations to the priesthood. Hanoi recently allowed the first
appointment of a bishop since 1975, but announced in spring 1994
that it would henceforth exercise veto power over Vatican
appointments of bishops. It continues to block a Vatican episcopal
appointment for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnamese Catholicism's most
important center. It limits the number of seminaries, the number of
seminarian entrants, and the number of ordinations. This has
resulted in a severe shortage of priests: In the city of Haiphong, for
example, 15 priests serve 150,000 Catholics. It bans Catholic
education for the laity and forbids Catholic literature and
publications with limited recent exceptions. As the situation stands,
the Vietnamese Catholic Church is forced into a stunted existence,
with its pastoral ministry virtually limited to celebrating Mass at
strictly proscribed times and places.
        * INDEPENDENT PROTESTANT EVANGELICALS: Protestant
Evangelical house church leaders are being subjected to staggering
fines for holding unauthorized prayer meetings and Bible studies. If
they are poor, they are forced into labor for the state until the fine
is paid off. They will not have access to a new print-run of bibles --
the first legal Bibles allowed in recent decades -- unless they
"register with" the government. The leader of the state-sanctioned
Evangelical Church states that only 25% of the believers in his Ho
Chi Minh city community own a bible, in the highlands, this figure
can be as low as 10%. As recently as 1993, three of the most popular
Evangelical leaders were in prison precisely for the "crime" of
receiving support from American churches; while all long-term
urban Evangelical prisoners of conscience were released from jail by
1993, it is not difficult to understand the vulnerability that these
Christians continue to feel. The urban pastors continue to be sharply
restricted in their activities, especially in the areas of
proselytizing and education, and their use of church facilities is
under tight government control.  The ethnic mountain peoples have
been rapidly converting to Evangelicism in recent years and suffer
greatly for it. Arrests of these Christians in the remote villages
have been reported as recently as spring 1994.
        * BUDDHISM. In 1981, the government banned the independent
Buddhist Church and tried to force its adherents into the
government-controlled Vietnamese Buddhist Church. Nevertheless,
many independent Buddhists remain, and they are currently perceived
by the regime as its main religious challenge.  Since 1982, Buddhist
defiance of the government's religious policies has set off a
spiraling cycle of repression.  In that year the Venerable Thich Huyen
Quang was appointed Patriarch of the banned independent Unified
Buddhist Church of Vietnam, following the death of Patriarch Hau. He
promptly made known the Buddhists' demands, in a speech at Hau's
funerals that called for legalization of the independent Church and
urged strong opposition to government's attempts to control
Buddhism. In the ensuing months 300 Buddhists were arrested and
pagodas were placed under tight police surveillance. Tensions
escalated on the anniversary of Patriarch Hau's death in April 1993
when four Buddhists self-immolated in protest of state
restrictions, followed by riots where independent Buddhists battled
police water cannons and tear gas with sticks and stones in the
most public display of protest since the Communist take-over.
Buddhist protests and arrests have continued since then. In a
courageous Declaration issued in late 1993, Patriarch Quang called
for democratic elections, and the dissolution of the Vietnamese
Communist Party, along with religious freedom. He, along with
virtually the entire independent Buddhist leadership, remain under
house arrest or in prison at this time.
        Copies of Puebla's report are available for $10.00 from the
Puebla Institute, a Washington-based human rights group that
defends religious freedom worldwide.

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From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 13-SEP-1994 01:38:44.67
To:	icthus::yuille
CC:	
Subj:	Archbishop of Canterbury arrives in China

Archbishop of Canterbury arrives in China

DATELINE: NANJING, China  PRIORITY: Rush  WORD COUNT: 0161
Agence France Presse English Wire       DATE: September 11, 1994  18:07 GMT

The Archbishop of Canterbury arrived in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing
on  Sunday,  kicking off a four-city, 11-day tour that was two years in the
planning.

Carey  arrived  from  Hong Kong, where he had given a sermon in the morning
that  warned against aggressively spreading Christianity in countries where
the religion does not prevail.

One percent of China's 1.2 billion people are said to be Christians.

During  his  sermon  in  Hong  Kong,  Carey  made  no  mention of religious
persecution  in  China, where, according to Amnesty International, hundreds
have been detained for their religious views or holding religious meetings.

Besides  Nanjing,  Carey  will tour Shanghai and Chengdu before arriving in
Beijing, where his schedule will include a tour of Tiananmen Square -- site
of the brutal June supression of the 1989 pro-democracy movement.


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% Date: Mon, 12 Sep 1994 16:51:55 +0800
% From: [email protected] (Charles Mok)
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: Archbishop of Canterbury arrives in China
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 13-SEP-1994 23:07:57.22
To:	icthus::yuille
Subj:	Chinese protestant detained over property row

Chinese protestant detained over property row

DATELINE: BEIJING  PRIORITY: Rush  WORD COUNT: 0431
Agence France Presse English Wire       DATE: September 12, 1994  07:24 GMT

Beijing  police  released  Monday the head of a Protestant church committee
who  had  been  detained  for  20  hours  over  a property dispute with the
official organisation overseeing Chinese christians.

Li  Dequan,  34,  said he had been picked up by uniformed and plain-clothes
police  at  4:40  p.m.  (0840  GMT)  on Sunday at the Gang Wa Shi church in
downtown Beijing, before being released at noon (0400 GMT) Monday.

His  detention coincided with the arrival in the eastern city of Nanjing of
the  Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. George Carey, at the start of an 11-day,
four city China tour.

Li  said  by telephone that he had been interrogated by police who said his
committee  had  violated  the  law by carrying out construction work in the
church  against  the  wishes  of the official Three-Self Patriotic Movement
(TSPM) -- the state-sponsored body governing China's Protestants.

The  dispute arose over the ownership of a piece of property in the Gang Wa
Shi  church  grounds that was recently vacated by a family who had moved in
during  the  1966-76  Cultural  Revolution,  when  most church property was
seized by local authorities.

Li's  committee  had  wanted to reclaim the property, knock down a dividing
wall,  and  use it for prayer meetings. However, TSPM officials insisted it
be used as an office.

When the church committee went ahead with its plan, police were sent to the
church  on  September 4, when they videotaped church members and threatened
them with arrest.

"They  asked  me  to  admit  that  our action in knocking down the wall had
violated the law," a clearly distressed Li said after his release.

"I was not officially charged, but I expect to be served a summons today or
tomorrow," he added.

The  dispute  reflects  the  underlying  tension  that exists between local
church  committees  and  worshipers  on the one hand and the TSPM, which is
widely  viewed  as  a  bureaucratic administration aimed at enforcing state
control over Protestantism here.

"The  Three-Self  movement and the government wear the same trousers," said
one Protestant activist in Beijing.

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% Date: Tue, 13 Sep 1994 14:04:47 +0800
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% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: Chinese protestant detained over property row
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 19-SEP-1994 20:25:44.85
To:	icthus::yuille
Subj:	China Site Lures Many Pilgrims

Subject: China Site Lures Many Pilgrims
Date: Sun, 18 Sep 94 21:50:17 PDT

	SHESHAN, China (AP) -- As the morning mist clears, hundreds of
Catholic pilgrims prepare for the traditional climbing of Sheshan
hill on the outskirts of Shanghai, one of China's most popular holy
sites.
	Many are shabbily dressed peasants who kneel before rows of
burning candles, chanting, singing and reading from prayer books.
	After about an hour, white-robed seminarians bearing a large
cross and candles lead a procession of 1,000 pilgrims up the hill.
They follow a winding path that leads to a church built on the
leafy summit in 1873 by Chinese priests who were inspired by a
visit to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
	At the rear of the procession, more seminarians carry a small
statue of the Virgin Mary on bamboo poles. Five or six times, as
the path curves through bamboo groves, the procession stops at
small shrines for prayer.
	Atop the hill, pilgrims jostle for position outside the ornate
church, where a 90-minute Mass is said.
	Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian of Shanghai, whose diocese includes
Sheshan, said about 70,000 people make the pilgrimage every year
and the number is growing. The busiest time is May, when Chinese
Catholics celebrate ``Mary Month'' to honor the Virgin.
	Sheshan's growing popularity reflects a spiritual awakening in
China.
	Many people, dissatisfied with the greed mentality created by
the rush for economic growth, are turning to religion. The
government-run Catholic Church, which designates Sheshan as an
official site, says its membership is 4 million and growing by
60,000 a year.
	Nestorian missionaries brought Christianity to China in the 6th
century and Roman Catholicism took hold when Matteo Ricci, an
Italian Jesuit, founded Beijing's first Catholic church in 1583.
	In 1957, the Communist government broke relations with the
Vatican and ordered Chinese Catholics to renounce the pope's
religious authority. Many of those who refused were jailed. The
government established its own agency, the Catholic Patriotic
Association, to ordain priests.
	China's 4,000 official Catholic churches are directed not to
baptize children or preach to them. To get around this and other
restrictions, illegal ``house churches'' have been established in
private homes.
	The Vatican estimates 2 million Catholics remain loyal to the
pope and the popularity of ``house churches'' has increased,
prompting government crackdowns on unauthorized worship.
	Pilgrims stopped visiting Sheshan after the Japanese occupied
China in 1937. During the chaotic Cultural Revolution of 1966-76,
the church and many other holy sites were damaged by Red Guards.
	Sheshan was repaired and reopened in 1981. Its seminary, one of
24 in China, resumed operations a year later and graduated its
first priests in 1985.
	Jin, bishop of Shanghai since 1984, said Sheshan is vital to
Chinese Catholics, providing a vehicle for both ``priests and
believers to express their own belief.''

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% Date: Mon, 19 Sep 1994 10:41:42 +0800
% From: [email protected] (Charles Mok)
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: China Site Lures Many Pilgrims
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 19-SEP-1994 23:32:56.77
To:	icthus::yuille

Subject: Archbishop Preaches In Beijing
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 94 10:30:22 PDT

	BEIJING (AP) -- The Archbishop of Canterbury preached at
Beijing's largest church Monday and said he was struck by the
faithfulness of Chinese Christians.
	George Carey, who heads the Church of England and holds a
position of honor in Anglican Communion churches in 161 countries,
was in Beijing following visits to Shanghai, Nanjing and Chengdu.
He returns to England on Thursday.
	``Chinese Christians have been quite remarkable in the way
(they) have adapted through great times of change,'' Carey said
during a sermon at Chongmenwai Church.
	``Sometimes that change has been violent and repressive,'' he
added, without elaborating.
	China allows state-approved religious groups to function under
tight controls, but has cracked down on unofficial religious
activity.
	Carey said his travel in China had taken him to ``vibrant and
exciting'' churches, where he met many Christians. He noted the
growth of churches in China, saying only three churches were open
in 1979 and 8,000 exist today.
	China has 7 million to 8 million Christians who worship in
state-approved non-denominational churches. It also has an
underground church movement of 30 million to 50 million worshipers.



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% Date: Mon, 19 Sep 1994 15:31:33 +0800
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% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

                     Cantuar in Hong Kong and Nanjing

                  The first report - by J Rosenthal/ACNS

Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey  preached to a packed St John's
Cathedral, Hong Kong before embarking on his entrance to mainland China
flying to Nanjing mid-afternoon. Prayers were offered during the morning
Eucharist for the people of China and for the Archbishop's trip. In his
sermon Archbishop Carey spoke of the possibility and hope that this is
God's chosen time for China.

The China Christian Council's Bishop C.H. Ting, who is a consecrated
Anglican bishop, welcomed the party at Nanjing and escorted the Archbishop
to a hotel in the city centre. An immediate visit to the revered mausoleum
shrine dedicated to Dr Sun Yat sen, the forerunner of the Chinese
Revolution, found the Archbishop climbing hundreds of steps viewing all of
the city and beyond from the tomb, on the southern slope of the Purple
Mountains. Dr Sun Yat sen was the key figure in the 1911 Revolution
successfully overthrowing the monarchy. Thousands visit the elaborate
monument.

In the evening Bishop Ting hosted a dinner to welcome the Careys. In
attendance were faculty members of the Nanjing Theological Seminary,
officials of the Amity Foundation, the 3-Self Committee and the China
Christian Council. Bishop Ting, speaking of the visit, said, "I am
extremely glad this could happen. Fifteen years ago we would not have
anything to show you, every church was closed down, but in the last
fourteen years there has been real recovery. Because of the increasing
numbers of Christians there are eight thousand churches, with tens of
thousands meeting in homes." The bishop spoke of the dire need for better
theological and leadership training to produce the "next generations
leaders". Bishop Ting expressed the desire to show Archbishop Carey "not
only the good and bright aspects of our life but also the darker aspects.
We cherish our international and ecumenical contacts - we like to feel we
are doing this with the support and blessing of the Universal Church."

Archbishop Carey responded by saying "God is blessing you" and reminded the
dinner guests that he "was not a westerner coming with glib answers." He
said, "Any visitor comes with a keen anticipation of what to expect."

The Archbishop will deliver a lecture to seminary students, visit an
orphanage, and see work done by the Church with the disabled on his first
full day in China.

Sent from the Anglican Communion Office in London UK
at 10:35 am GMT on Mon, Sep 19, 1994

The second report - by James Rosenthal/ACNS

Staggering statistics reveal that there are 380 million children under 18
inhabiting China and this fact set the tone for the Archbishop's visit to a
Rehabilitation Hospital for Mentally Retarded Children and an orphanage in
Nanjing. He visited young people in both places and met with staff, some
who are affiliated with the Amity Foundation, a Christian Charity. Dealing
with mentally ill children is difficult in China and families often neglect
and do not comprehend the need for extended care, the last is also hard to
find.

At the orphanage, 90% of the children are disabled. Rats were seen in the
toilet area but the children appeared clean and well cared for. Church
groups and UNICEF have equipped this well-used facility.

Later in Nanjing the Archbishop addressed students and faculty at the
theological seminary. His theme was evangelism. He told the assembly "each
culture presents its own challenges and opportunities for the gospel" and
that the Church must "see society through the eyes of Christ." He
encouraged the predominantly young crowd to "enjoy your ministry, do it
well and to the glory of God."

Officials of Church and Government agencies entertained the Archbishop's
team. The Archbishop has repeatedly said "I am here to listen, learn and
enter into the experiences of the Church of China."

A visit to Amity Printing Press came just one week before the press will
celebrate the publishing of its 8th million Bible. In 1994 they predict
over 2.2 million bibles will be distributed at a cost of one USA dollar
each. There are 35 distribution points in China for the Bibles. The version
of 1919 is described as "readable, not modern".

A dinner sponsored by the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB - a government
agency) provided the opportunity to hear the official policies in China
concerning religion - "to explain and carry out the policies of religious
freedom." A member of the RAB accompanies the Archbishop's group as they
travel from city to city. At the dinner the RAB representative said "Some
spoil the image of religion - we protect normal religious activities and
avoid illegal activities."

In Shanghai

A visit to the Buddha Jade Temple found Archbishop Carey in conversation
with the Abbott. This is one of the 5 main temples in China and is a major
pilgrimage and tourist spot.

"We regard Jesus Christ as more than special" is what the Primate told
students at China East Seminary in the chapel decorated with Stations of
the Cross. The Archbishop told the students that the Bible proves
"Christianity is not a Western Religion." He said "Because of the troubles
you have had, we in the West can learn a great deal from you."

On September 15 the Archbishop visited the National Office of the China
Christian Council in Shanghai and heard officials tell of the beginnings of
the 3-Self Movement in the 1950s and then the eventual formation of the
Council in 1980. There are 26 Provincial Councils and 10 Commissions all
designed to offer pastoral care to the churches and "to help Christians
know about the faith" and to supply guidance in church order. The Church is
governed by Bishops, Pastors, Elders and Deacons working with the laity.
The Bishops are "spiritual leaders", they do not have jurisdiction or a
diocese. The Council members urged Archbishop Carey to have the World
Church keep China in their prayers and to offer assistance only in
"partnership" with local leaders, not in the traditional missionary
mindset.

There is a shortage of pastors although 1500 are studying in seminaries.
Young graduates are often not accepted by the older church members.

The CCC told the Archbishop that they "enjoy religious freedom" but did
admit in some local areas officials are not supportive of church
activities. In conflicts the CCC protects the churches taking the
particular case to government officials while also guarding the "legal
rights of the church".

The CCC praised their 3 year relationship with the World Council of
Churches (WCC). The WCC provides educational training and disaster
assistance to the Chinese Church.

Earlier in the day the Archbishop addressed the Shanghai Institute of
Religion, an organisation established in the 1980s, with 200 people
currently involved. Buddhists, Protestants and Catholics are found in the
membership. The Archbishop's theme was the Church in British society.
Speaking of Britain Archbishop Carey said, "I don't think you can measure
religion by the number of those who attend church." The Archbishop's speech
evoked a lively encounter with those listening.

The pastoral visit moved to Chengdu where the Archbishop will preach at a
large church on Sunday.

Photos available

Sent from the Anglican Communion Office in London UK
at  6:28 pm GMT on Fri, Sep 16, 1994

                     Carey in China - A day in Chendu

                 The Third report - by James Rosenthal/ACNS

1500 people filled every inch of space in a rural church in Luodai to hear
the Archbishop of Canterbury preach today. A few clutched Bibles and Hymn
books, some sat on the floor or stood in crowded doorways. The congregation
sang 1950's evangelical missionary hymns in the service which lasted one
hour Prayers and scripture readings were offered in the simple Protestant
style worship service, with the choir singing four anthems.

Archbishop Carey's sermon was based on part of the Sermon on the Mount. The
church a "meeting point" is located in the city's market. The Archbishop
told the people that such a location has special "symbolic power". "The
Church should never distance itself from the world, rather, it should be
very much a part of the world to which we are called to preach the gospel",
the Archbishop said. People from the British Council of Churches were
partly responsible for the building of this church building, Dr Carey said,
"the Church is something that we build together with the whole community of
Christians, both nationally and internationally." I am well aware that
there have been times when Chinese Christianity has gone through grave
difficulties and persecutions," the English prelate said. Using the imagery
of salt and light from the gospel he congratulated the people by saying
"You have remained salt and light." Regulations on registration of
churches, as required by law, are posted in the church entranceway.

The Government provided the prime land for this church which is currently
without a pastor, but has a young woman seminary graduate in charge.
Parishioners laboured over four thousand days to finish the building for
Christmas 1991.

Sichuan Theological Seminary was the next stop where the President, the
Revd Cai Yoh-sheng, welcomed the party with "thanksgiving and great joy".
Dr Carey is the first Archbishop to visit this often forgotten inland area.
The seminary houses fifty students and staff, all present to greet the
Archbishop in their 7th floor, walk-up, chapel. Dr Cai's father is Bishop
Tsai Fu Cu, originally consecrated as an Anglican. China Christian Council
president Bishop K H Ting was also first an Anglican bishop before the
formation of this 'post-denominational' Church in China.

Current student population figures include six minority Chinese students,
one giving a powerful testimony to Dr Carey while appearing in his national
dress. There are fourteen teachers in this building which is just three
years old. Help from government, Churches abroad and the national Christian
Council enabled the procuring of the large facility. The Vice-principal
said that since its founding in 1984 they have sent seventy-six into the
Christian ministry throughout China.

Archbishop Carey warmly greeted the young students, telling them that
being, as Christians, a minority "Doesn't matter to God". He spoke of how
Christians believe Jesus Christ is "very special" yet said we "ought to
respect the beliefs of others". He urged the seminarians not to misuse the
Bible and to carry on as students throughout their lives. Speaking of the
Church, Archbishop Carey said, "no Church is ever self-sufficient - we need
each other." "Humbly and gently" is how Dr Carey described the best ways to
share the good news of the gospel. "The Christian faith - its philosophy
and thought - has much to offer society" he concluded.

On Saturday, an official rest day, the Archbishop's party climbed, on
footpaths, Qingcheng Mountain and visited an historic Taoist temple on the
mountain side. The Archbishop showed his agility and fitness on this
difficult path up the scenic mountain.

The spicy food of the Sichuan area was the menu for the banquet Sunday
night, given by the Provincial Council of Churches. Dr Carey addresses
University students on Monday before heading for the capital Beijing for
the last phase of the China visit.


Photos available
Full sermon text available

Sent from the Anglican Communion Office in London UK
at  4:42 pm GMT on Mon, Sep 19, 1994

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 23-SEP-1994 02:24:05.02
To:	icthus::yuille
Subj:	Christian Business Gets Start

Subject: Christian Business Gets Start
Date: Wed, 21 Sep 94 22:10:15 PDT

	BEIJING (AP) -- The plain white sign with nondescript black
characters isn't eye-catching. But anyone who stops long enough to
read it -- Holy Love Service Center -- would do a double take in this
officially atheist country.
	Wang Meiru, founder and manager of the household service
provider, is not bashful about her beliefs.
	``Because I'm a Christian, I call this `Holy Love' -- spreading
God's love to mankind,'' she said, her plump face breaking into a
smile.
	That kind of motivation is not unusual in the United States,
where some cities have so many Christian-owned businesses that they
put out their own directories.
	But Wang is the only Christian in Beijing, and probably the
entire country, to publicize her faith through her business. What
she's done is unheard of in Communist-ruled China, which officially
rejects any religious beliefs and at best only tolerates the
faithful.
	Most Christians in China, downtrodden by decades of persecution
that often included beatings and long imprisonments, are cautious
about acknowledging their religious beliefs.
	But as China's Communist rulers gradually loosen control, some
believers are testing the limits of what is allowed.
	When Wang first registered her company, officials told her the
name Holy Love Service Center was inappropriate. But Wang, an
irrepressible, 51-year-old divorcee with a 1950s-style bouffant
hairdo, insisted.
	``I want to show our good Christian work style and Christian
deeds to society,'' she told them.
	Surprisingly, she's had no trouble from authorities. Wang
believes it's because the company fills a real need, and because,
other than the company name, she does not overtly publicize that it
is a Christian outfit.
	Inspired by a pastor who observed that many elderly people have
no one to help with heavy jobs around the house, Holy Love sends
workers to clients' homes to perform household chores such as
shopping, fixing appliances and tutoring children.
	Wang works out of her tiny, two-room apartment, taking calls
from clients and sending out one of the several dozen workers she's
signed on, most of them fellow believers.
	The company barely breaks even because it often gives services
away to the poor and because Wang sometimes lets her workers keep
everything they earn instead of deducting a percentage to cover
expenses.
	Wang Wenge, a slight 45-year-old, augments his meager income as
a night watchman by taking Holy Love jobs during the day.
	One recent morning, he was stooped over a soapy basin scrubbing
a greasy kitchen window fan for a Chinese diplomat, a regular
client. The diplomat, Gu Qun, said he was reassured when Wang told
him that because her workers are Christian, they wouldn't rob or
cheat him.
	``That's very important for those of us who are hiring people
into our homes,'' said Gu. Rising crime is an increasingly serious
problem -- just days before, a mother and daughter were murdered in
Gu's apartment building.
	Wang turned to Christianity more than 10 years ago, after
suffering through decades of house arrests, beatings and attacks
because her father had worked for the Communists' archrivals in the
former Nationalist government.
	``I was so beaten down by the Communist Party that I had no hope
but to believe in Christianity,'' she said.
	The government says there are 7 million to 8 million Christians
who worship in state-approved churches, but estimates of the number
in underground churches runs between 30 million and 50 million.
	Wang, with her children now grown, has devoted herself to
helping others.
	Among them are Christians in Beijing who have run afoul of the
law for associating with dissidents, as well as a few families of
political prisoners.
	Wang is reluctant to discuss her association with the activists.
But she sums up her work this way: ``Being a Christian isn't just
about believing. If all you do is read the Bible and listen to
sermons but don't put it into practice ... then what kind of a
Christian are you?''

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% Date: Thu, 22 Sep 1994 18:24:42 +0800
% From: [email protected] (Charles Mok)
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: Christian Business Gets Start
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 23-SEP-1994 23:57:20.63
To:	icthus::yuille
Subj:	Archbishop of Canterbury upbeat about China's religious freedom

Archbishop of Canterbury upbeat about China's religious freedom

BY: Tiffany Bown
DATELINE: BEIJING  PRIORITY: Urgent  WORD COUNT: 0626
Agence France Presse English Wire       DATE: September 22, 1994  08:31 GMT

The  Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey on Thursday ended an 11-day tour
of  China, expressing optimism about improvements in religious freedom here
despite the existence of certain "shadows."

Carey  told  journalists  his  Chinese  Christian  Council  (CCC) hosts had
acknowledged  more  than  500 cases of local-level abuse, but he added such
violations  "must  be seen against the background of great encouragement of
the Christian Church."

"In  the  main, religious tolerance is a reality. The Church is growing and
that  growth is generally unimpeded," said Carey, insisting he had seen the
"real" situation during his visit.

"We have certainly seen the shadows, but against the shadows the picture is
generally an encouraging one getting healthier all the time," he said.

One  percent  of China's 1.2 billion people are said to be Christians, with
some  five  million Protestants in the official church outnumbered by those
belonging to movements unrecognised by the authorities.

Despite   the   constitutional   right   to   worship  freely,  underground
organisations  are  the  target  of  severe  repression, according to their
members  and human rights groups, which regularly denounce the imprisonment
and torture of followers of illegal churches.

In  its  1994 report, Amnesty International, with which Carey is to meet on
his return to London, said "hundreds of people" in China have been detained
for their faith.

The  archbishop  said  he had raised western concerns about restrictions on
religious freedom in China, focusing on allegations of "serious violations"
in Anhui, Henan and Shaanxi provinces.

He expressed particular concern about the use of "extreme violence" to shut
an  unofficial  church  in  Shaanxi's Ankang city and reports of arrests of
members  of  the  Jesus  family  in Shandong province, he said, adding that
officials had promised to look into the cases more carefully.

"This  is a complex and very large country. The government principle is not
being implemented everywhere. There are abuses going on at local level. ...
It seemed to me that this is known," he said.

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% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: Archbishop of Canterbury upbeat about China's religious freedom
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 29-SEP-1994 00:42:30.62
To:	icthus::yuille
Subj:	RELIGION'S COMEBACK IN CHINA

RELIGION'S COMEBACK IN CHINA
Chicago Tribune (CT) - TUESDAY, September 27, 1994
By:  Greg Baker, Associated Press.

    SHESHAN, China - As the morning mist clears, hundreds of Catholic
pilgrims prepare for the traditional climbing of Sheshan hill on the
outskirts of Shanghai, one of China's most popular holy sites.

       Many are shabbily dressed peasants who kneel before rows of burning
candles, chanting, singing and reading from prayer books.

       After an hour, white-robed seminarians bearing a large cross and
candles lead a procession of 1,000 pilgrims up the hill. They follow a
winding path that leads to a church built on the leafy summit in 1873 by
Chinese priests who were inspired by a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral in
Paris.At the rear of the procession, more seminarians carry a small statue
of the Virgin Mary on bamboo poles. Five or six times, as the path curves
through bamboo groves, the procession stops at small shrines for prayer.

       Atop the hill, pilgrims jostle for position outside the ornate
church, where a 90-minute mass is said.

       Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian of Shanghai, whose diocese includes
Sheshan, said 70,000 people make the pilgrimage every year and the number
is growing. The busiest time is May, when Chinese Catholics celebrate "Mary
Month" to honor the Virgin.

       Many people, dissatisfied with the greed mentality created by the
rush for economic growth, are turning to religion. The government-run
Catholic Church, which designates Sheshan as an official site, says its
membership is 4 million and growing by 60,000 a year.

       Nestorian missionaries brought Christianity to China in the 6th
Century, and Roman Catholicism took hold when Matteo Ricci, an Italian
Jesuit, founded Beijing's first Catholic church in 1583.
       In 1957, the Communist government broke relations with the Vatican
and ordered Chinese Catholics to renounce the pope's religious authority.
Many of those who refused were jailed. The government established its own
agency, the Catholic Patriotic Association, to ordain priests.

       China's 4,000 official Catholic churches are directed not to baptize
children or preach to them. To get around this and other restrictions,
illegal "house churches" have been established in private homes.

       The Vatican estimates 2 million Catholics remain loyal to the pope,
and the popularity of "house churches" has increased, prompting government
crackdowns.

       Pilgrims stopped visiting Sheshan after the Japanese occupied China
in 1937. During the chaotic Cultural Revolution of 1966-76, the church and
many other holy sites were damaged by Red Guards.

       Sheshan was repaired and reopened in 1981. Its seminary, one of 24
in China, resumed operations a year later and graduated its first priests
in 1985.

       Jin, bishop of Shanghai since 1984, said Sheshan is vital to Chinese
Catholics, providing a vehicle for both "priests and believers to express
their own belief."

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% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: RELIGION'S COMEBACK IN CHINA
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok"  4-OCT-1994 04:08:21.62
To:	icthus::yuille

China's Christians, Still in the Catacombs

By John S. Barwick. The Wall Street Journal. September 29, 1994.

Mr. Barwick is a researcher at the Chinese Church Research Center in Hong 
Kong.

BEIJING - "In the main, religious toleration is a reality.  The church is
growing and that growth is generally unimpeded," the archbishop of 
Canterbury said on his recent visit to China.

Archbishop Carey was using a fairly narrow definition of "religious 
toleration" and an even narrower definition of "church."  Congregations that
gather secretly in private dwellings throughout China are indeed growing --
faster than the official church.  Membership in these "house churches"-- 
which contains between five and 500 followers apiece -- is conservatively
estimated at 20 million, while the official Protestant "Three-Self Patriotic
Movement" has seven million members.  Likewise, the number of secret 
Catholics may be twice the four million in the official Catholic Church.

The Protestant house churches have sprung up all over China, and are most
numerous in the coastal areas and the provinces of Henan and Anhui.  But 
their growth is far from "unimpeded."  The government does everything from 
controlling the distribution of Bibles to rounding up and beating these 
"unofficial" Christians.

Consider an incident earlier this year:  After officials in Xunhang County 
in the province of Shaanxi got word that five young preachers from 
neighboring Ankang would be attending a service at a local house church,
eight or nine policemen paid it a visit.  They beat some people present with
their clubs, and handcuffed three male and two female Ankang preachers.  The
three men were stripped from the waist down and beaten.  The 26 others 
Christians present were then forced to beat the three men 100 times each 
with a bamboo rod or be beaten themselves.

After this, the three were strung up with rope and beaten unconscious by the
cursing police officers.  The two women were also harshly beaten, and the
officers tore open their clothes and abused them.  The beatings continued 
until dawn, at which time they were locked in one bare detention room for 
eight days.  One of the men, 22-year-old Lai Manping, later died.

Every year, thousands of less severe incidents occur, ranging from the fining
of Christians who "unlawfully" attend unregistered religious meetings or 
receive Christian literature from overseas, to the arrest and imprisonment
of iteinerant evangelists.  Most of these cases involve house churches, which
are illegal because they are not registered with the government.

The motives for Beijing's harsher line were spelled out in an April 1990 
letter to Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin from Chen Yun, a veteran Long
Marcher and an important power broker in the party's succession struggle.
After referring to some reports on religious unrest in the country, Mr. Chen
concludes that "Using religion to win over the masses -- especially young
people -- has always been a favorite trick of domestic and class enemies."

"This is a bitter lesson of the several Communist-led countries which lost
power," the aging hardliner goes on to say. "Now is the time for the party
center to deal vigorously with this vital matter."

Mr. Jiang, a likely successor to leader Deng Xiaoping, made sure that Mr. 
Chen's letter was widely circulated.  In January, Premier Li Peng signed two
state council decrees aimed at suppressing religious belief by blocking the
activities of foreign missionaries and requiring all religious groups to 
register with the state.

The Communists have always regarded religion as a threat to their monopoly 
on power.  But recognizing that banning religion outright is impossible,
they sough to capture it within organizations controlled by the party.

Today the Protestant "Three-Self" churches and official Catholic churches
are perfectly legal.  In principle, they even receive government support and
protection -- but only in return for compliance with the Communist Party's
restrictions on how they practice their faith.  That's why their growth has
been anemic amid one of the greatest religious revivals the world has ever
seen.

From the mouths of the Three-Self leaders themselves, the archbishop heard 
that their official church received more than 500 complaints about meddling 
by party cadres in 1993 alone.  He probably wasn't told that the reason these
conflicts usually arise is that the party places its sympathizers in 
positions of authority in the churches to make sure its policies are obeyed.
These church leaders are not only corrupt but have a total disregard for the
genuine religious sentiments of the vast majority of the congregations.

While party leaders may well fear what China's religious revival portends,
Christianity is not the enemy.  Religion has never exactly been an opiate 
for the Chinese masses; history shows it's been more like gunpowder, with
governmental misrule providing the spark.  When the quasi-Christian Taiping
Rebellion nearly toppled the Qing Dynasty in the 1850s, the real cause was 
the corruption and decay of the imperial order.  The rebellion's leader,
Hong Xiuquan, was anything but a cat's-paw of foreign missionaries.  They 
denounced him as a heretic.

Christianity is the fastest growing religion in China today, especially 
among young people.  Its dynamism owes much to the passionate commitment 
and spiritual hunger of Chinese Christians themselves.  Their vibrant 
faith is captured in the words of one young female house church leader.
When asked if she was afraid of persecution, she smiled and replied, "That
would be my time of glory."


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% Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 20:05:49 +0800
% From: [email protected] (Charles Mok)
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: China's Christians, Still in the Catacombs
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

CAREY IN CHINA - THE LAST DAY

The Fourth report - by James Rosenthal/ACNS

* Part 1 of 2

On Thursday morning Archbishop Carey spent thirty minutes in the Great Hall
of the People with the Minister in Charge of Ethnic and Religious Affairs,
a high ranking Chinese official.

Following this private official visit the Archbishop held a press
conference at the Beijing Grand Hotel and issued the following statement:

-------------------------------

At the end of my visit to China, I should like to thank Bishop K H Ting,
the China Christian Council (CCC), the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM)
and, indeed, all those who have organised different parts of my programme
for their generous help and hospitality.

When I first arrived, I was asked what was the purpose of my visit. I
emphasised then that I had come as a Christian leader, the Primate of All
England and the President of the Anglican Communion, to listen and learn,
to encourage fellow Christians in China and to return with a more informed
view of the situation here.

Since 1979, China has undergone remarkable social change at many levels. In
1979 only a very few Churches were open in the whole of China. Now, within
the CCC alone there are over 8,000 Churches together with 20,000 Meeting
Points, to which can be added the many Churches of the Catholic Church and
also the thousands of others not affiliated to any of the official bodies.

My visit has taken me to four major cities where I have been able to meet
and talk with many people from different walks of life: farmers,
professors, students, housewives, doctors, pastors, engineers and artists.
I was especially pleased to visit four seminaries where young men and women
are being trained for Christian ministry. Throughout my travels, I have
sensed a search going on at all levels of society, but particularly among
the intellectuals and the young, for an authoritative basis for morality.
There is also a widespread belief that religion generally, and Christianity
in particular, has an important contribution to make to the quest for an
ethical basis for the community and the individual. It is encouraging to
see the Churches responding positively to this and my own faith has been
renewed and strengthened by the stories of God's faithfulness to his people
over past years in the midst, at times, of grave suffering and hostility.

Before I arrived, I was well aware that many worries had been expressed
that the Government's stated policy of freedom of belief for all the people
of China was not being implemented properly throughout the country. I had
been told of some congregations being unable to meet and, indeed, of some
pastors whose movements were restricted by the authorities. My visit gave
me an opportunity to raise these and many other issues with those in
government. In particular, I raised questions about the situation in
certain provinces such as Anhui, Hernan and Shaanxi where serious
violations of that policy have been reported. I expressed particularly
concern about a situation in Ankang City in Shaanxi Province where, as has
been widely reported, extreme violence was used to shut down a meeting
point. I also asked for clarification about the reports of arrests of the
Jesus Family in Shandong and elsewhere. I shall be discussing these matters
further on my return to Lambeth with Amnesty International and others who
briefed me before I left.

But such violations must be seen against the general background of great
encouragement for the Christian Church. In the main, religious toleration
is a reality.  The Church is growing and that growth is generally
unimpeded. The picture, however, is uneven. Last year, the CCC alone
received well over 500 complaints which ranged from property issues to
reports of violence against Church members and the unlawful use of
detention without trial. It was made clear to me by Church leaders that
many of these complaints have been taken up directly with the approriate
authorities. The results, I have to report, were variable.


* continued on following note

Sent from the Anglican Communion Office in London UK
at 11:48 am GMT on Tue, Oct  4, 1994

CAREY IN CHINA - THE LAST DAY

The Fourth report - by James Rosenthal/ACNS

* Part 2 of 2

My meeting with the Director of the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB)
presented me with an opportunity to ask how the Government was handling
questions raised for the Churches by Document 145 (31.1.94) concerning the
registration of places of worship. It is quite clear that the official
stated policy of the government is not to interfere in the internal affairs
of the Church but rather to protect the people's right to exercise their
faith within the confines of the law. Registration, I was told, is not seen
by the Bureau as an attempt to control or limit the Church. Bishop Ting's
article in the June issue of the Church journal, 'Tian Feng (Heavenly
Wind)' states that there is nothing to be feared from Registration per se,
but that its implementation will have to be carefully monitored both by the
Churches and the RAB throughout the country and I hope that this will lead
to a greater understanding of the doubts being expressed by many believers
and a proper implementation of the law.

I was also heartened by Bishop Ting's statement that the CCC will be
involved in supporting those Churches not affiliated to TSPM/CCC as well as
those which are, and that the new law does not require a Church to
affiliate to TSPM as a condition of registration unlike the regulations
promulgated in certain provinces in recent years. I underlined in my
meeting this morning that how the law is implemented will be of vital
importance to the whole of Chinese society as a 'sign' of how the principle
of religious freedom is being upheld.

Among other concerns which have been mentioned to me by Church leaders has
been the issue of Church property - both the slow return of Church property
and the difficulty of obtaining land to build and establish new Churches
which is restricting the growth of the Church in certain districts
including this city. In many cases the CCC and RAB have combined
successfully to regain Church premesis occupied during the Cultural
Revolution and before. However, they have failed to regain a number of
properties where military or commercial interests prevail. For instance, I
look forward to the day when the former-Anglican Cathedral in Shanghai is
once again a centre of Christian worship.

As I mentioned earlier, one of my concerns was to see how those of us
elsewhere in the world can best enter into partnership with the Churches of
China. Chinese Protestantism is a Post-Denominational Church that has much
to teach us in the world-wide Christian fellowship. China's greater
openness gives the wider Church a chance to enter into a fresh partnership
with our brothers and sisters which will be of benefit to us all. However
this partnership requires responsible and informed contributions from the
West which are not driven by the desire to export forms of
culturally-inappropriate Christianity into a Church which is now truly
indigenous.

An excellent example of the style partnership I would like to see
encouraged is the way in which the Chinese Bible is being published. I was
privileged to visit the Amity Printing Press in Nanjing which two days ago
published the 8,000,000th bible printed in China since 1986. Well over two
million Bibles have been produced this past year from a staff team which is
overwhelmingly Chinese but which also has personnel drawn from Singapore,
USA, New Zealand and elsewhere. Of these 2.2 million, 400,000 were
distributed in Churches not affiliated to the CCC and a further 50,000 were
printed for the Catholic Church.

Partnership like this will, I hope, also be developed further in the realm
of theological education. My visit to the four seminaries brought me into
contact with students who are bright, well-motivated, and deeply spiritual.
The resources available to them are inadequate at present for the task of
training for modern ministry. Theological seminaries from abroad could well
assist with the development of ministerial training and lay education.

In conclusion, I have greatly enjoyed my brief stay in China. This is an
exciting country and we can expect further changes in the days ahead, not
least in the growing contribution of the Church to the life of the nation.
Although the Christian Church is still relatively small, it is for many
people a sign of hope. The shadows exist, but the general picture is most
encouraging. Without wishing to interfere with the internal affairs of
China, but reminding her of her international obligations, Christians from
abroad will wish to encourage a policy of tolerance which will allow the
Christian faith and other faiths to be practised without restraint in every
part of this great country.

I shall continue to retain a strong personal interest in China and will
wish to support Bishop Ting and others in the forefront of this work. I am
delighted to say that bishop Ting has invited my Bishop for Chinese Church
Affairs (the Bishop of Aston) to visit China and I know that he is looking
forward to making the journey in the near future. God is doing a great work
in China and I am heartened by all that I have seen of that work here over
the last few days.

-------------------------------

Earlier in the week the Archbishop's tour began winding down yet he made a
trip to the Great wall  on Wednesday and attended an evening at the Chinese
Opera on Tuesday. The delegation made a private visit to Tiannemen Squre in
the late evening, Archbishop Carey had a lengthy private meeting with
Bishop Ting of the Chinese Christian council on Wednesday and later
attended a dinner at the British Embassy 

  Photos available
  Full sermon text available

Sent from the Anglican Communion Office in London UK
at 11:49 am GMT on Tue, Oct  4, 1994

Two Protestant pastors held in northeast China: report

DATELINE: HONG KONG  PRIORITY: Rush  WORD COUNT: 0233
Agence France Presse English Wire       DATE: October 06, 1994  08:39 GMT

Two  Protestant  pastors  were arrested for illegal religious activities in
northeast China's Shenyang city, it was reported Thursday.

The  pastors,  from Shenyang's Dongguan Church, Gao Liangyi and Gao Peiman,
were  detained  for  violating  regulations  on the management of religious
centres  as  well  as  for criminal offences, the Hong Kong branch of China
News Service said in a report.

However,  authorities  in  Shenyang denied an earlier report in the foreign
press that more than 20 other Christians were arrested during a police raid
on the church in April, the report said.

The  pair,  who  are not related, were accused of inciting a congregational
revolt  against  elder  clergy  who had been accused of embezzling cash and
valuables between October last year and February.
The two also reportedly attacked the elders.

Despite  intervention by authorities, the pastors allegedly refused to halt
illegal activities inside the church, the report said.

The report did not specify the nature of those activities, adding only that
the pair had "disrupted public order and obstructed the course of justice".

Gao  Peiman,  the  report added, had been released on bail and is now under
house  arrest because he acted as a subordinate, while investigation on Gao
Liangyi continued.


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% Date: Fri, 7 Oct 1994 15:10:49 +0800
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% Subject: Two Protestant pastors held in northeast China: report
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 18-OCT-1994 02:45:57.46
To:	icthus::yuille
CC:	
Subj:	BISHOPS DECRY CURB ON FREEDOM IN VIETNAM

From: [email protected] (Stephen R Denney)
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.seasia-l
Subject: VN: U.S. Bishops Protest Religious Repression
Date: 17 Oct 1994 08:01:27 GMT

The following is a Religious News Service Report published in The 
Catholic Voice (weekly of the Oakland Catholic Diocese), Oct. 3, 1994:

BISHOPS DECRY CURB ON FREEDOM IN VIETNAM
By Religious News Service

	As the U.S. moves toward full diplomatic relations with Vietnam, 
U.S. Catholic bishops say they continue to have "special concern" about 
areas of Vietnamese life, especially religious freedom.
	"Our concerns about religous liberty begin with our own family of 
faith, but they do not end there," said Bishop Daniel Reilly, chairman of 
the U.S. Catholic Conference's Committee on International Policy.
	"Recent crackdowns on religous groups have tended to be directed 
most directly at members of the Unified Buddhist Church and against the 
evangelical house-church movement and are just as objectionable as the 
restrictions imposed on the Catholic Church," Bishop Reilly said. 


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% Received: from Sun.COM by inet-gw-3.pa.dec.com (5.65/10Aug94) id AA18753; Mon, 17 Oct 94 18:41:23 -070
% Received: from Eng.Sun.COM (zigzag.Eng.Sun.COM) by Sun.COM (sun-barr.Sun.COM) id AA11798; Mon, 17 Oct 94 18:39:53 PD
% Received: from arwen.Eng.Sun.COM (arwen-142) by Eng.Sun.COM (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AB27096; Mon, 17 Oct 94 18:42:53 PD
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% Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 18:44:50 +0800
% From: [email protected] (Charles Mok)
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: BISHOPS DECRY CURB ON FREEDOM IN VIETNAM
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII

From:	52534::"mok%[email protected]" "Charles Mok" 28-OCT-1994 23:49:55.12
To:	distribution:;@vbormc.vbo.dec.com (see end of body)
Subj:	See you in Hong Kong

I will be going back to Hong Kong to work soon.  Next week will be my
last at Sun.  I will be joining and managing the technology development 
company of a diversified media group.  

After next week, I can be reached at email at [email protected] until I get
a local account in Hong Kong.  I will provide my phone number when I have
it.  Do give me a call when you visit Hong Kong.

Charles


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        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
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% Received: by vbormc.vbo.dec.com; id AA01704; Sat, 29 Oct 94 00:39:15 +0100
% Received: from Sun.COM by inet-gw-3.pa.dec.com (5.65/10Aug94) id AA18337; Fri, 28 Oct 94 16:47:20 -070
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% Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 16:25:15 +0800
% From: mok%[email protected] (Charles Mok)
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: distribution:;@vbormc.vbo.dec.com (see end of body)
% Subject: See you in Hong Kong
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII
% Content-Length: 390

From:	52534::"[email protected]" "Charles Mok"  1-NOV-1994 03:24:59.05
To:	icthus::yuille
Subj:	China Sacks Democracy Pastor

Subject: China Sacks Democracy Pastor
Date: Sat, 29 Oct 94 9:10:07 PDT

	BEIJING (AP) -- Government religious authorities have sacked a
liberal ['liberal' assumed to be political; not spiritual! - AY] Christian
pastor over [against - AY] the objections of the congregation of Beijing's
most popular church, members said Saturday. 
	The Chinese Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement,
the two government bodies that oversee China's Protestant churches, have long
been unhappy with Li Dequan, the aging head pastor of Beijing's Gangwashi
church. 
	In 1989, Li allowed young church members to join the Tiananmen Square
democracy movement, where they took part in the massive street marches
carrying wooden crosses and banners identifying themselves as Christians. 
	Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of protesters were killed when troops
were sent into Beijing to crush the democracy movement. 
	Church members say Li still frequently talks about democracy.
Attendance at his church has dramatically increased, to the dismay of
government officials, who view a growing, vibrant Christian community as a
threat. 
	Last week, officials enacted the Chinese Christian Council's 1993
decision to remove Li and replace him with Yu Xinli, chairman of Beijing's
Three-Self Patriotic Movement, church members said. They spoke on condition of
anonymity for fear of retribution. 
	Yu appealed for cooperation from the congregation and dissolved the
church administration committee. He also said all of the church's official
stamps, which are required to carry out any official business, would be
invalid. 
	Church members said they met Wednesday and voted that they opposed
Li's dismissal. They would not disclose what, if any, action they might take. 
	Official statistics say there are 7 million to 8 million Christians
who worship in government-approved churches, but estimates of the number of
members of underground churches run from 30 million to 50 million. 
	In Beijing, a city of more than 10 million, the government has allowed
only a handful of churches to open in an attempt to control growth. 
	At Gangwashi, there are five different services each Sunday, and
thousands attend. Even on weekdays the church grounds are filled with
gatherers, many attending prayer or Bible study meetings. 
	Li has allowed members to set up their own church administration
committee to handle the church's day-to-day affairs in direct opposition with
the government officials whose job is to supervise the church. 
	In 1993 the government tried to sack Li, but church members threatened
to take to the streets in protest, forcing the officials to back down. 
	In recent months new disputes have arisen. Several members of Li's
congregation have been arrested or detained for dissident activities. 
	The church has also clashed with officials over a vacant room it wants
to use to enlarge an adjacent meeting hall. 
	Police detained several members last month who were tearing down a
wall separating it from the hall. The government has sealed the room. 


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% Received: by sar.Eng.Sun.COM (5.0/SMI-SVR4) id AA17385; Mon, 31 Oct 1994 11:22:27 +080
% Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 11:22:27 +0800
% From: [email protected] (Charles Mok)
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: icthus::yuille
% Subject: China Sacks Democracy Pastor
% X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII
% Content-Length: 2960

From:	VBORMC::"[email protected]" 12-NOV-1994 15:39:48.75
To:	distribution:;@vbormc.vbo.dec.com (see end of body)
Subj:	New phone number

Hi all,

I am now with CIM Technology Development Co Ltd in Hong Kong and my office
number is 840-2703 (fax: 801-4420) now until January.  By then we will 
move to our Chai Wan facility with the Ming Pao newspaper.  

Things are going well with me and please stay in touch. Do give me a call
whenever you are in Hong Kong!

Charles


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        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
        [email protected], [email protected]
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% Received: by vbormc.vbo.dec.com; id AA20038; Sat, 12 Nov 94 16:26:44 +0100
% Received: from zhang.umd.edu by inet-gw-3.pa.dec.com (5.65/10Aug94) id AA00785; Sat, 12 Nov 94 07:38:23 -080
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% Date: Sat, 12 Nov 1994 10:14:10 +0500
% From: [email protected]
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: distribution:;@vbormc.vbo.dec.com (see end of body)
% Subject: New phone number
% Content-Length: 333