President Obama Remains Silent As Christians Suffer

CHINESE CHRISTIANS CONDEMN OBAMA

President Remains Silent As Christians Suffer

U. S. Opts to Ignore Communist Persecutions

by Paul L. Williams

As President Barack Obama embarks on his first visit to China, leaders of the Chinese Christian churches are condemning his administration for its indifference to the increasing persecution of their flocks by the Communist overlords.

The latest example of that persecution came Sunday a church in Beijing was nailed shut since it failed to gain the approval of the state.

Worship in China is governed by the officially atheist Communist Party. Christians may only worship in state-approved churches.

Since such approved places of worship remain few in number, millions of Chinese Christians belong to unregistered churches and remain subject to imprisonment and official harassment.

Sunday’s closing of the Shouwang church, one of the largest underground churches in China, forced 800 members to hold worship services in a nearby park. The service didn’t last long since it was disrupted by the police. The flock finally made their way to a performance hall on the outskirts of the city.

District police referred questions regarding the shutting down of Christian churches to the Beijing public security bureau, where calls rang unanswered Sunday.

Calls to the State Religious Affairs Bureau also went unanswered.

By Sunday night, the closing of the Christian churches continued with Chinese police raiding well-known worship center in Shanghai, Wanbang.

Harassing the two prominent unregistered churches is likely to intimidate other smaller churches. Members of the Beijing church said Sunday they have never experienced such harassment from authorities before.

Obama, who arrived in Shanghai yesterday, will be closely watched during his visit for signs he will speak out on human rights, including religious freedom.

Leaders of churches like Shouwang said if Obama doesn’t speak up, the Chinese government will crack down even more.

“Sometimes before a major U.S. visit, Chinese authorities show goodwill and release someone. But this time, it’s the opposite,” said Yang Fenggang, director of the Center on Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University. “I tend to think this is a test case.”

Activists and others in China say the U.S. may not want to risk angering China when it needs cooperation on issues such as climate change and the financial crisis.

“I think so far President Obama has been the worst president in terms of dealing with China’s human rights issue,” said Fan Yafeng, an outspoken leader of another unregistered, or “house,” church in Beijing.

He said the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences fired him Nov. 3 as a research fellow at its Institute of Legal Studies for political reasons, including his church activities.

“Human rights lawyers and house churches are two of the most important powers in China’s civil society, but the president hasn’t made any gesture to help them,” Fan said.

Obama touched briefly on human rights and China in a major Asia policy speech in Japan on Saturday, but he did not mention specific issues.

The Obama administration’s stance has worried many Chinese Christians since February, when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. would not let human rights concerns interfere with cooperation with Beijing on global crises.

“The Obama administration’s total silence on this issue was seen as a green light and certainly emboldens the Chinese government’s resolve to carry out this sweep without worrying about international consequences,” Bob Fu, founder of the U.S.-based Christian group China Aid Association, said.

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