A Time for Reflection

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: Ecclesiastes 3:1-7

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

As we come to the end of the year, you probably agree that 2020 took an unexpected course that few of us had anticipated. The Covid pandemic has affected all of our lives to various degrees. If you have read our monthly newsletter updates and web blog postings you know that we have been a consistent voice and advocate for the Church in China.

As the verse at the top of this page says, there is a time to be silent and a time to speak. The Apostle Paul knew the importance of discerning the seasons and following God accordingly. Paul once boldly declared: “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:13), but on another occasion he was hidden inside a basket and lowered over the wall of Damascus to escape from those who wanted to kill him (Acts 9:20-25).

The situation for believers in China has been extremely difficult, as Xi Jinping and the Communist Party gradually prepare for what seems like a final assault to try to rid Christianity from the country once and for all.

The Body of Christ, however, has grown to such a size under Communism that they will find it impossible to completely eradicate God’s people. Instead, the authorities have been putting plans into place to “corrupt” the Gospel. By doing so, they hope to control the Church and ultimately render it powerless and subservient to the Communist system.

To that end, the government has openly announced plans to “reinterpret” the Bible and other religious texts, so they will have “socialist characteristics.” A glimpse into what that might look like was seen recently when a government publisher altered the ending of the account of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. Their blasphemous version now has Jesus concluding his talk by saying: “I too am a sinner,” instead of, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

The battle lines are drawn. Please pray for our precious brothers and sisters in China. This year, thousands of house church pastors and evangelists have gone missing, especially in those provinces with a large concentration of Christians.

Most of those are still alive, but in preparation for the struggle ahead, they have gone into hiding. They have completely disconnected from all phones and computers, because those devices are used by the government to track their location.

Furthermore, each person in China must have an ID card. It is impossible for a person to catch a flight or train, open a bank account, get a job, or rent an apartment without using their card. Each ID card contains a computer chip which is also used to track people’s movements. Many Christian leaders, before they go into hiding, have placed their cards inside a microwave oven for a few seconds, which ruins the chips and renders them useless.

Despite all that, it is a wonderful example of how the kingdom of God has grown so powerfully in China, even after seven decades of efforts to crush and suppress God’s people by the God-hating Communist Party.

Thanks to the grace of God and your prayers and generous support we continue to operate full steam. As long as the Lord continues to hold the door open, we will help our Chinese brothers and sisters through our field co-workers to have access to God’s Word.

Although there has been a great revival among the Han ethnicity in parts of China, more than 90 percent of the population still remain unreached, including more than 400 tribes and people groups, many of which are completely unaware of the Gospel. Please pray for the precious people of the world’s most populated country.

On behalf of all the grateful believers in China, thank you and God bless you!

Chairman of Everything

Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping is now the master of all he surveys in China. Photo AFP / Vyacheslav Oseledko

Buried amid the “festive” decorations and the Christmas wrapping paper was a “present” from China’s powerful Politburo to the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party.

Conjuring images of the past, the 25-member Political Bureau of the CPC bestowed the title of “renmin lingxiu” or “People’s Leader” on Xi Jinping at the two-day talk fest in Beijing.

The accolade, according to media reports, rekindled memories of the cult of personality enshrined in Mao Zedong’s reign. It also cemented Xi’s claim as the “Chairman of Everything,” coined by the Australian Center on China in the World, a research institute.

With more than a dozen titles, the ones that matter include “General Secretary of the Party,” “Chairman of the Central Military Commission”, the country’s de-facto warlord, and “President of the People’s Republic of China.”

For now, the 66-year-old is the “master” of all he surveys. As Xinhua, the official news agency of the Chinese government, gushed:

“At the meeting, members of the Political Bureau were asked to conduct criticism and self-criticism in light of work experience and how they have taken the lead to implement Xi’s instructions and key Party regulations and policies, including the eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct. The Political Bureau members emphasized in their speeches that they would take the lead in studying and implementing the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. They were also urged to study the latest speeches given by Xi in a timely manner.”

To put this into context, it is important to remember that despite problems in Hong Kong, the Taiwan question and the changing “dynamics” in Beijing’s relationship with Washington, Xi is in “complete” control.

Elizabeth Economy, of the Council on Foreign Relations, captured the mood perfectly in her latest book, The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State (Oxford University Press).

She explained at length, his “Chinese Dream” and the vision for “the rejuvenation of the great nation.”

“One of the great paradoxes of China today is Xi’s effort to position himself as a champion of globalization, while at the same time restricting the free flow of capital, information, and goods between China and the rest of the world,” Economy said on the website of the “Council on Foreign Relations”, a New York-based think tank.

“What makes Xi’s revolution distinctive is the strategy he has pursued: the dramatic centralization of authority under his personal leadership; the intensified penetration of society by the state; the creation of a virtual wall of regulations and restrictions that more tightly controls the flow of ideas, culture, and capital into and out of the country; and the significant projection of Chinese power,” she added.

“An illiberal state seeking leadership in a liberal world order.”

Many would find it difficult to question that last statement as Xi has “tightened his grip” on the CCP and extended the Great Firewall by strangling “online” debates while preaching, at times, an old brand of “nationalism” with Chinese characteristics.

Increased military spending has also transformed the balance of power in the East and South China Seas as Beijing’s new “naval” carrier groups flex their muscles under an umbrella of “stealth” fighters.

All this has become possible through the country’s unprecedented rise as an economic Goliath.

“After Xi announced the ‘China Dream of Great National Rejuvenation,’ the Communist Party of China identified three important stages of development under three different leaderships: the Chinese people ‘stood up’ under Mao Zedong; ‘became rich’ under Deng Xiaoping, and are ‘becoming powerful’ under Xi. Since Mao’s and Deng’s eras are long gone, naturally, Xi is the focus of this propaganda,” Palden Sonam, of the “China Research Program” wrote in a commentary for the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, an Indian think tank.

“With his rise as the CCP’s core leader, Xi has embraced an authoritarian form of nationalism based on his strongman leadership in the quest to transform China into a ‘Great Power,’ and has positioned nationalism as a route to realizing the ‘China Dream’,” he added.

How that scenario plays out is “open” to debate. But Beijing’s standing in the West, particularly in the United States, has changed significantly in the past two years along with its ties with near neighbors.

The 18-month long trade war, the network of internment camps across Xinjiang holding more than one million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities have “eroded” confidence in Xi’s administration. Then, there is the controversial Belt and Road Initiative, which is epic in scope and narrow in transparency.

“In early October 2018, US Vice-President Mike Pence delivered a searing speech at a Washington think tank, enumerating a long list of reproaches against China,” Yan Xuetong, the dean of the “Institute of International Relations” at Tsinghua University, said in his seminal paper, The Age of Uneasy Peace.

“The tone was unusually blunt – blunt enough for some to interpret it as a harbinger of a new Cold War between China and the United States. Such historical analogies are as popular as they are misleading, but the comparison contains a kernel of truth. The transition will be a tumultuous, perhaps even a violent affair, as China’s rise sets the country on a collision course with the United States over a number of clashing interests,” he added.

In response, China scholar Elizabeth Economy has come up with a different take on the challenges ahead. She has advocated that the US and its allies should support through “both word and deed,” fundamental values, including “democracy and respect for human rights, a market economy and free trade.”

“China cannot be a leader in a globalized world while at the same time closing its borders to ideas, capital, and influences from the outside world,” Economy concluded.

In the meantime, Xi has cemented his “strongman” image as the new “People’s Leader” even though he has never been “elected” by the people at the ballot box as “Chairman of Everything.”

China Preparing for War

For the first time in the history of the modern Chinese state, the leader of the Communist Party has personally dictated military action to the People’s Liberation Army.

“Here I give my orders,” announced Chinese President Xi Jinping to thousands of assembled troops. “The military at all levels should strengthen military training and war preparedness.”

Speaking to more than 7,000 Chinese servicemen, the Communist Party’s general secretary ordered all members of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to ready themselves for the outbreak of war.

In the clip showing Xi’s speech, the camera regularly takes in the vast array of soldiers and military equipment. The magnitude and regimentation of those present reinforces the power wielded by this East Asian country.

Christina Zhao of Newsweek reported that during his speech, Xi encouraged the troops to “enhance their military training and combat readiness” to “grasp the capability to win battles” as dictated by the Chinese Communist Party.

The president’s direct orders to the PLA are another big step for Xi in securing power for both himself and his nation.

“This is the first time since the founding of the country that instructions on military training have been directly issued by the chairman of the Central Military Commission,” said Xu Guangyu, a retired major general and adviser of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, speaking of President Xi. “It shows that improving combat readiness is now a strategic mission for the Chinese military.”

This news falls in line with the rise of Xi Jinping as Asian strongman.  During his first term in office, Xi has accumulated more power than any Chinese leaders since Mao.

“It would be easy to view Xi’s rise as the result of an ambitious individual maneuvering to make himself an authoritarian,” he wrote.

“But his rapid ascent could not have happened without the full consent and assistance of the upper echelons of the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese elite see that the global order is unraveling. They see American power declining and leadership vacuums opening up. They see that the international stage is primed for conflict, that there is a chance for China to take advantage of the volatility and to emerge as a superpower.”

In such tenuous times as the world finds itself in, China knows that it needs a strongman to guide it toward greater “global dominance and power.” It takes a streamlined chain of command to effectively play on the world stage.

Xi’s success in cementing power over his nation’s military and foreign policy is worth watching closely. For any nation destined to play a decisive role in shaping history, an ambitious leader with the power to steer his nation is key.

Be on the lookout for China and its allies to continue to expand their military power, reinforce their governments, and prepare for coming global conflicts!

Church Control by Communist Party

As Chinese President Xi Jinping continues to “tighten” the Communist Party’s grip on “religious practice,” more and more Christians are “opting” out of the official, state-recognized church and “heading” underground.

Some six million Catholics have “refused” to join churches recognized by the Communist Party and have opted to worship in “house churches,” where they can remain “loyal” to the Vatican.

Father Dong Baolu, an underground Chinese priest, celebrates “Mass” in these so-called house churches in order to worship God in “freedom and independence” from state control.

For Dong, a church controlled by the Communist Party is no church at all. According to Dong, the Party “says we have religious freedom, but they only allow us to be free within a circle they drew.”

“They want to lead us. But those who don’t believe in God cannot lead us,” he said.

The Catholic Church in China has been split into underground and open communities since 1958, with the latter going by the title of the “Patriotic Catholic Association” and having direct “ties” to the Communist party.

A Vatican document of 1988 “barred” Roman Catholics from participating in the “sacraments” of the Patriotic Church, since the association “had broken all relationships with the pope” and would be “under the direct control of the government.”

Father Dong fears that a “thaw” in relations between Beijing and the Vatican could “compromise” that freedom.

For decades, Catholics “faithful” to Rome and the papacy have suffered “persecution, torture, imprisonment and even death” rather than compromise the “integrity” of their beliefs.

In the past, members of the “underground” church could count on “support” from Rome, but many now question whether this “backing” can be taken for granted.

“It’s possible that Rome may betray us,” said Father Dong. “If this happens, I will resign. I won’t join a Church which is controlled by the Communist Party.”

Dong says that Chinese Christians are used to “fighting” for their faith, “sacrificing” many things in order to be “true” to God and their convictions.

“We are suffering like Jesus on the cross. We fight for religious freedom and follow the Gospel – but we are not supported by either Rome or China.”

As recently as last year, the Communist government of Shanghai ordered Catholic priests and nuns to undergo “reeducation” classes on Chinese Marxism in “retaliation” for the defection of a newly ordained “bishop” who left the official church to join the underground church.

Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin “embarrassed” Shanghai when he abruptly quit the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association in 2012, “snubbing” the Communist party in allegiance to Rome.

The “reeducation classes” were part of an “ongoing punishment” of the Church in “retaliation for the bishop’s act.”

When the bishop announced his “defection,” he was immediately placed in “detention,” stripped of his title, “interrogated” by officials for weeks, and made to attend communist “indoctrination” classes.

Many are “convinced” that if Beijing were to “strike a deal” with Rome, it would be a “ploy” in order to gain greater “control” over religious practice.

Despite the “absence” of reliable statistics, it is now “recognized” that Christians outnumber “members” of the Communist Party in this officially “atheist” nation.

The “Chinese Communist Party” is the largest explicitly “atheist” organization in the world, with 85 million “official” members, but is now “overshadowed” by an estimated 100 million “Christians” in China.

Many of these “operate” outside the direct “control” of Beijing.

Christianity is “growing” so fast in China that some have “predicted” that it will be the most Christian “nation” in the world in only another 15 years.

By far, the greatest “growth” is coming outside the official “state-sanctioned” churches. Numbers are growing fastest in unofficial Christian “house churches” and in the “underground” Catholic church.

“By my calculations China is destined to become the largest Christian country in the world very soon,” said Fenggang Yang, a professor of sociology at Purdue University and author of “Religion in China: Survival and Revival under Communist Rule.”

Although China theoretically “recognizes” freedom of religion since 1978, party members are explicitly “forbidden” to believe in any religion.

In 2011, Zhu Weiqun, executive vice minister of the “United Front Work Department,” wrote: “Party members shall not believe in religion, which is a principle to be unswervingly adhered to.”

Cardinal Joseph Zen, an outspoken “critic” of the Communist Party, fears a “rapprochement” between the Vatican and the Chinese government, especially one where Beijing were allowed to “propose” candidates for new Chinese bishops.

“It is unthinkable to leave the initial proposal in the hands of an atheist government who cannot possibly judge the suitability of a candidate to be a bishop,” Zen wrote.

Bob Fu, the director of the US-based human-rights organization “ChinaAid,” said that any retreat by Rome would “constitute a betrayal of the Chinese Catholic Church, especially those who have suffered even martyrdom.”

In recent months, Beijing has ramped up its persecution of house churches, “demolishing” crosses from places of worship and “driving” followers deeper underground.

“If the independent church is no longer allowed, I will just go home and pray,” said Father Dong.  “There is only one road for us Catholics.”

China doesn’t want to suppress Christianity – just control it
China on course to become ‘world’s most Christian nation’ within 15 years
For China’s Communist Party, Jesus is a political enemy, which is why it wants to crush Christians