The People’s Republic of China is on the move. Four decades ago the impoverished, backward country was convulsed by a veritable civil war, the Cultural Revolution. Two decades ago, impoverished, backward China embarked upon economic reform.
Today China is becoming an economic and geopolitical power. Serious pitfalls remain along its path toward superpower status, but the People’s Republic of China seems likely to overtake the American economy in two or three decades, and to match U.S. military power later in the century.
In short, the Chinese people have much to celebrate.
Yet even as the PRC grows in international confidence, its Communist party remains paranoid, fearful of the very diversity encouraged by the ongoing reform process. Human rights remain limited. In particular, notes a new report, religious liberty remains restricted.
Even as Europe seems to slip further from its religious moorings, Christianity is growing rapidly elsewhere in the world, including in the PRC. The Chinese State Administration for Religious Affairs estimates that there now are 130 million Christians in China, roughly 10 percent of the population.
The number of Christians in China is increasing despite sustained state repression. Bob Fu, president of the China Aid Association (CAA), notes that “the unprecedented growth of the Chinese church has happened under ceaseless persecution.”
When Fu speaks of persecution, he is not referring to something mild. Some American Christians use the word to mean cultural hostility. Nasty as Hollywood can be, it cannot arrest and jail. Beijing can.
The CAA reports that, in 2006, “the Chinese government continued its general crackdown on unregistered house churches.” What is notable is Beijing’s change in strategy:
Although Public Security Officials still held church leaders detained in the raids for extended periods, church members were released after short interrogations on the spot. This strategy effectively decreased the number of arrests, but had the effect of transferring the pressure onto the church leaders, who were sometimes held for weeks or months. There is clear evidence that a number of these leaders were tortured and physically abused during the time they were held.
The CAA estimates that more than 600 Christians were detained in 2006, down from about 2,000 the year before. But most of those arrested last year were church leaders. Moreover, “local officials closed and demolished more house churches in 2006 than 2005.” China also targeted congregations as cults. “After being classified as a cult, House churches in Langzhong city, Sichun province were severely persecuted in 2006.”
Local authorities have raided meetings between Chinese Christians and overseas believers. CAA goes on to list episodes of arrests, detentions, and imprisonments of Christians, as well as church closings and building demolitions. Nor is that all. In addition, “homes of Chinese Christians have been searched, crowds of peaceful protestors have been charged with electric shock batons, and access to Bibles and teaching has been restricted.”
Amid all this misbehavior is some good news. For instance, persecution varies dramatically by province, which means that believers are left largely unmolested in some areas. As Paul Marshall of the Hudson Institute has noted, “everything you hear about China is true”–that is, persecution and tolerance coexist in the same nation, as different local authorities react differently to growing religious diversity.
Moreover, the overall trend is good. Compared to 40 or even just 20 years ago, the PRC is much freer. Despite the effects of Tiananmen Square, personal autonomy is on the rise. The non-governmental sector is growing. China is moving in the right direction.
The question, then, is how to promote further progress?
Washington should use its influence to encourage Chinese officials to respect the human rights of their citizens. The bully pulpit can be useful, since Beijing aspires to a leading international role. Democratic states in Asia and Europe should join the U.S. in informing the PRC that it will gain in influence when it respects the lives and dignity of its people. So long as Beijing fears the deepest beliefs of its people, nations around the world will fear the actions of the Chinese government.
Indeed, the point bears repeating: Authoritarian states may gain power internationally, but rarely can they sustain their influence. The Soviet Union was reviled by its own people, hated by its satellites, and distrusted by its adversaries. There was nothing to sustain the USSR as its economic crisis deepened.
It is oft-said that Beijing takes a long view towards politics. It therefore is in China’s interest to win the support of its people rather than to punish them for believing that there is a transcendent, something above the Communist Party, Chinese state, and other human institutions.
Beyond that, individuals, businesses, and other organizations should use whatever opportunities they have to press for greater freedom in China. Companies should seek to protect their employees when they exercise basic freedoms, such as religious worship. And they should make it clear to Chinese officials that religious liberty matters.
China has come far in a short time. The Chinese people are right to be proud of the nation that they are building. But their ultimate goal should be a strong society rather than a strong state. And that requires respecting individuals as they worship God.
– Doug Bandow is vice president of policy for Citizen Outreach. A former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is the author of Foreign Follies: America’s New Global Empire.