I'm glad Spectrum invited John to write this article. John is the person we've known the longest in CHUM--met us in Beijing 14 years ago and gave us a 45 minute orientation to working and teaching in China (the thing we remember the most is adaptability, adaptability, adaptability). He taught at our college for two weeks until we could arrive in China, and we have mutual friends from that time. Probably the person we consider the best informed about Adventism in China.

Just back from a month in China with my boys. Things keep changing there so rapidly it's hard to keep up. One thing I would totally agree with John on--it doesn't make sense to "rattle the bars" and raise the government's ire against the church. If you are respectful of the people you work with, you can do many things that you would get in trouble for otherwise.

Another thing I would also agree on--there are many "versions" of Adventism. The SDA church in our adopted Chinese "home town" has had so many doctrinal and tradition-oriented arguments with the other protestant church (with whom they shared a building) that they have withdrawn and no longer even meet in the city. Our good friend, who is a sort of Communist Christian (yes, it's complex!), was with us when we found this out. I was, sorry to say, relieved that she had not become SDA, but was rather a more generic Christian. This infighting would have pushed her out of the church--she was shocked that professed Christians could treat each other this way. (unfortunately, of course, we were not shocked, but very sad)

For a broad look at Christianity in China, read the book Jesus in Beijing. Very, very interesting trends there. Since most of my friends in China are not Christians (and those who are aren't SDA), I don't know the SDA trends as well as John.

M

Visiting Hong Kong on a Communications assignment back in 1997 (just before we British kindly gave the colony back--we're so good at doing that!)John was the one who really helped me understand what was going on in China. I would wish that leadership take his words to heart, as I believe that only by operating in the way he mentions can we make the best of this situation. There's much more I could say, especially about religious freedom and human rights, but not on an open forum! And John, thanks again for your commitment and dedication.

Jonathan

My 13 years teaching in China remains my best life experience. I came home from China in 2006 thinking I hadnt done much for the Lord there, but knowing the Lord didnt really need me for converting the Chinese, However recently a former student wrote say that I had taught her basic bible and that that day her house church was baptising 50 people. In Changchun there are two SDA churches I attended while teaching there.Warms my heart to see there are 300,000 or 400,000 SDA there. Dennis Lowrimore in Highland, Utah

Who else besides the author of this piece knows the SDA trends in China or just as well as he? Samuel Young maybe? Eugene Hsu perhaps?

I'm part Chinese because of my father who left mainland China as a young boy, taking up permanent residence in Southeast Asia/the Philippines. Although all his children were raised Adventists by my mother, he never converted to Christianity. This should explain my interest in the subject.

Intriguing is historical note #1 in regard to Chinese Christians turning their back on religion. What does that mean? I'm left guessing whether or not there's a connection with historical note #2 that institutional religion seemed the main SDA business prior to the Communist takeover. What does note #2 mean? That most so-called SDA converts, who turned their backs on religion/Adventism, were denominational employees or Rice (Adventist) Christians?

Ralph and Beatrice Neall wrote a brief account (unpublished term paper they submitted for a class that was taught by Mervyn Maxwell in AU) noting the response to religious persecution in China. According to them, many Adventist Christians especially those who lived in the countryside and who were not employed by the church were also severely tested but remained faithful.

Lastly, historical note (#3) which the article didn't include is the following stat (trend) from the GC:

Beginning membership 1998 and 2006
Taiwan 7,400 5,146
Hong Kong-Macao 4,001 4,348
China 235,227 344,123
No of ordained/licensed ministers
Taiwan 59 54
Hong Kong-Macao 33 29
China 0 98

http://www.adventiststatistics.org/view_Summary.asp?FieldInstID=893360

What strikes me about the numerical growth of SDA membership in China, from an estimated 20,000 at the time of the Communist takeover of the mainland in 1949 to over 280,000 fifty years later (1999), is that this occurred without the benefit of a single ordained professional clergy. In contrast, since year 2000, our denomination has fielded first 75 up to 98 ordained clergy at present. What difference has the presence of officially recognized Bible workers made so far? The same Spirit of God has been busy working, I know.

Here's the 1998 to 2006 report from the GC archives/statistics office:

Net Growth 19,078 26,075 16,852 14,115 6,321 2,304 18,305 5,846 8,793
Ending
Membership 254,305 280,380 297,232 311,347 317,668 319,972 338,277 344,123 352,916

Ordained
Ministers 0 0 75 78 83 91 97 97 98
Licensed
Ministers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

http://www.adventiststatistics.org/view_Summary.asp?FieldInstID=890691

I wish someone out there would help explain the above data for me. The subject of Chinese conversion to Adventism/Christianity, as I've explained earlier, is more than a passing interest as far as I'm concerned. Although ethnic evangelical Protestant congregations have continued to grow and multiply in several Philippine cities, there remains only a tiny ethnic immigrant Chinese Adventist church in Manila that was planted since way back in the early 1930's.

What's the current picture in regard to conversion to Christianity of ethnic diaspora Chinese?

'In American society, most post-1965 immigrants are from Asia, South and Central America, and many of the new immigrants have joined conservative churches, such as Pentecostals among Latin Americans and evangelicals among Korean and Chinese immigrants and Southeast Asian refugees...

'Although the numerical significance of immigrant converts to conservative Protestantism is not yet clear, the theoretical importance of such conversions is beyond doubt. These are not "circulating saints" switching from one evangelical church to another, but converts from other religious traditions; institutional factors are important for their conversion, but there are more important contextual factors beyond American society. Chinese conversion to evangelical Protestantism is a case in point.'

- Chinese conversion to evangelical Christianity: the importance of social and cultural contexts
Sociology of Religion, Fall, 1998 by Fenggang Yang

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_n3_v59/ai_21206031?tag=co...

Yang Fenggang, a sociologist at Purdue, has also published: Chinese Christians in America: Conversion, Assimilation, and Adhesive Identities (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999).

In point of fact, the Summer 2006 issue of Sociology of Religion has been devoted entirely to a discussion of the recent, unprecedented wave of Chinese conversion to evangelical Christianity in North America as well as other Chinese communities.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_2_67?tag=artBody;col1

For a glimpse of what is happening in China today, Nicholas Kristof's column has some insights:

August 17, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
Malcontents Need Not Apply
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
BEIJING

To put a smiley face on its image during the Olympics, the Chinese government set aside three “protest zones” in Beijing. Officials explained that so long as protesters obtained approval in advance, demonstrations would be allowed.

So I decided to test the system.

Following government instructions, I showed up at an office of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, found Window 12 and declared to the officer, “I’m here to apply to hold a protest.”

What I didn’t realize is that Public Security has arrested at least a half-dozen people who have shown up to apply for protest permits. Public Security is pretty shrewd. In the old days it had to go out and catch protesters in the act. Now it saves itself the bother: would-be protesters show up at Public Security offices to apply for permits and are promptly detained. That’s cost-effective law enforcement for you.

Fortunately, the official at Window 12 didn’t peg me as a counterrevolutionary. He looked at me worriedly and asked for my passport and other ID papers. Discovering that I was a journalist, he asked hopefully, “Wouldn’t you rather conduct an interview about demonstrations?”

“No. I want to apply to hold one.”

His brow furrowed. “What do you want to protest?”

“I want to demonstrate in favor of preserving Beijing’s historic architecture.” It was the least controversial, most insipid topic I could concoct.

“Do you think the government is not doing a good job at this?” he asked sternly.

“There may be room for improvement,” I said delicately.

The official frowned and summoned two senior colleagues who, after a series of frantic phone calls, led me into the heart of the police building. I was accompanied by a Times videographer, and he and a police videographer busily videoed each other. Then the police explained that under the rules they could video us but we couldn’t video them.

The Public Security Bureau (a fancy name for a police station) gleams like much of the rest of Beijing. It is a lovely, spacious building, and the waiting room we were taken to was beautifully furnished; no folding metal chairs here. It’s a fine metaphor for China’s legal system: The hardware is impeccable, but the software is primitive.

After an hour of waiting, interrupted by periodic frowning examinations of our press credentials, we were ushered into an elegant conference room. I was solemnly directed to a chair marked “applicant.”

Three police officers sat across from me, and the police videographer continued to film us from every angle. The officers were all cordial and professional, although one seemed to be daydreaming about pulling out my fingernails.

Then they spent nearly an hour going over the myriad rules for demonstrations. These were detailed and complex, and, most daunting, I would have to submit a list of every single person attending my demonstration. The list had to include names and identity document numbers.

In addition, any Chinese on a name list would have to go first to the Public Security Bureau in person to be interviewed (arrested?).

“If I go through all this, then will my application at least be granted?” I asked.

“How can we tell?” a policeman responded. “That would prejudge the process.”

“Well, has any application ever been granted?” I asked.

“We can’t answer that, for that matter has no connection to this case.”

The policemen did say that if they approved, they would give me a “Demonstration Permission Document.” Without that, my demonstration would be illegal.

I surrendered. The rules were so monstrously bureaucratic that I couldn’t even apply for a demonstration. My Olympic dreams were dashed. The police asked me to sign their note-taker’s account of the meeting, and we politely said our goodbyes.

Leave it to Kristoff to do that! I had to laugh while reading it.

I have read of some of those who have "disappeared" after applying for a permit to protest. This is a sham and a shame. But not terribly surprising.

Not exactly sure what this piece has to do with Adventist church in China . . . .

M

'What I didn’t realize is that Public Security has arrested at least a half-dozen people who have shown up to apply for protest permits...

'“I want to demonstrate in favor of preserving Beijing’s historic architecture.” It was the least controversial, most insipid topic I could concoct.'

Elaine,

The story leaves a couple of unanswered questions in my own mind. First, how could a knowledegeable journalist like Kristoff not have known in advance there were people who, as he claims, had already been arrested simply for trying to file a protest permit? It all depends on what one is protesting against, right? Second, wouldn't the Chinese authorities not have seen through Kristoff's cover - the deception - the pretence? His point, it seems, is he has little regard for Chinese intelligence (no pun intended). Period.

Here's a more respectful view of Chinese mentality and brand of politics:

‘If 10,000 Buddhists sat down in Times Square without a permit, what would New York do?...

‘if it [freedom] means explaining to anyone who asks why one has a deep inner contentment or focus -- then there is freedom in today's PRC for the Buddhist, the Christian, the Jew, the Muslim, and the Taoist to walk his or her own path.

‘If religious freedom means propagating via the media or publishing houses one's views without limit or censure, if it means soliciting donations to support the further spread of those views, if it means secret meetings, if it means standing on a corner and handing out leaflets without a license, if it means gathering in a street to block traffic and show disrespect to the authorities, if it means challenging the rulers -- there is no such freedom in today's PRC.

‘Based on these considerations, some in the U.S.A. claim that there is no freedom in the PRC and that, therefore, religious groups from outside have the obligation to enter, educate, and convert citizens "in bondage" to the PRC. Those entering the country would be disguised as an English teacher or as an employee of a joint venture, of course. But on what authority is such activity justified?’

- Fa Lun Gong and Religious Freedom
Cross Currents, Spring-Summer, 2000 by Marion Wyse

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2096/is_2000_Spring-Summer/ai_633...

Joselito--I just finished reading Kristoff's article online. There were several paragraphs that were not included above--I'll include them, as they are quite insightful. And yeah, knowing Kristoff, he knew the outcome, but it is possible that he didn't at that time know about the arrests (some people were even arrested before leaving their cities on the way to Beijing to be able to protest). And the PSB may have known it was a charade or they may not have, but the point is, they had to go through with it. In fact, reading Kristoff's article, it seems clear that these people weren't really sure what to do with him but were going through the formalities because that's what they had to do.

(just a quick somewhat related side note--traveling a few weeks ago with my friend to her in-law's tiny village, which you won't find on a map--we had gotten off the bus and were trying to make arrangements for transportation to the farm. We were standing across the road from the PSB, and there were several officers who watched us from a distance. We kept waiting for them to come question us, but they never did. Just as we had made arrangements for motorcycle cabs, an officer drove up in a car and spoke to one of the cab drivers. He asked him where we were going or what we were doing there--the cab driver told him we were there visiting family. The officer said, Okay, and drove away. We almost died laughing when we heard the details, because we are as non-Chinese in appearance as any Caucasian can be. But the PSB officer did his job. He could tell we weren't there to make trouble, and that we were traveling with Chinese people--but technically, he was required to make sure we weren't there illegally.)

I also like what you've posted. A friend, who has spent several years in China teaching and studying, jokes about the "teachers" and the "missionaries" who come to teach (of which I was the former--but we were lucky to have John Ash give us our personal little 45 minute orientation to working in China--that made all the difference in the world!)

Some are very proud of being asked to move from school to school because of their "in your face" teaching ("evangelizing?") style. To me it is much more impressive when the school asks for more Christian teachers when the current ones leave because they have cared so much about the students (and yes, this has happened in several cases that I know of personally).

Here are the final paragraphs of Kristoff's piece:

"Yet even though the process is a charade, it still represents progress in China, in that the law implicitly acknowledges the legitimacy of protest. Moreover, a trickle of Chinese have applied to hold protests, even though they know that they are more likely to end up in jail than in a “protest zone.” Fear of the government is ebbing.

My hunch is that in the coming months, perhaps after the Olympics, we will see some approvals granted. China is changing: it is no democracy, but it’s also no longer a totalitarian state.

China today reminds me of Taiwan in the mid-1980s as a rising middle class demanded more freedom. Almost every country around China, from Mongolia to Indonesia, Thailand to South Korea, has become more open and less repressive — not because of the government’s kindness but because of the people’s insistence.

I feel that same process happening here, albeit agonizingly slowly. Someday China’s software will catch up with its hardware."

M

For another succinct comment by David Brooks in the NYTimes:

"If you show an American an image of a fish tank, the American will usually describe the biggest fish in the tank and what it is doing. If you ask a Chinese person to describe a fish tank, the Chinese will usually describe the context in which the fish swim. Americans usually see individuals; Chinese and other Asians see contexts. What happens if collectivist societies, especially those in Asia, rise economically and come to rival the West? A new sort of global conversation develops. The opening ceremony in Beijing was a statement in that conversation. The most striking features were the images of thousands of Chinese moving as one--drumming as one, dancing as one, sprinting on precise formations without ever stumbling or colliding. [It was] a high-tech vision of a harmonious society, performed in the context of China's miraculous growth."

China has accomplished great economic successes at almost astronomical speeds. Could it be that the U.S. recognizes that they may no longer hold their coveted status of superpower? With our huge debt to China we must realize that perhaps the U.S. predominant position in the global community is on the wane.

While Brooks' facts are debatable (especially regarding the studies), I think you've hit the nail on the head as to why the US views China with fear and suspicion.

M

Thanks, Elaine and M

Sadly, we perceive the media as neutral and objective. Biggies like David Brooks still have their biases, however; they often reflect society's prejudices. There's a Chinese saying: "If you visit for a week you can write a book; stay a lifetime and you won't be able to finish a sentence."

'When Matt Fong, who was then California State Treasurer and a fourth- generation Californian, was running for U.S. Senate in 1998, he was asked by reporters which country he would support if war broke out between China and the U.S. When Tara Lipinski won the Olympic Gold Medal over Michelle Kwan in the 1998 Olympics, MSNBC wrote the headlines, “American beats Kwan.”

'Then there is the case of Wen Ho Lee, the 60-year-old Chinese American scientist who was accused of spying for China. Wen Ho Lee was a U.S. citizen who worked at the Los Alamos Nuclear Lab. Though he went on a trip to China with 13 other colleagues from the lab, he was singled out as the spy and charged with 59 counts of security breaches. Hysteria against Lee was particularly heightened by the New York Times, who ran a series of unsubstantiated leaks from the U.S. Justice Department on its front pages. Lee was put into solitary confinement for 9 months, chained and denied the ability to get out on bail. In the end, due to a lack of evidence, 58 of the 59 charges were dropped.'

- What is the connection between how the U.S. media views China — and how it views Chinese Americans?
By Judy Chu

http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/uschina/ee_connectionviews.shtml

It seems apparent that we in the U.S. know little about China, or any other country. Since we believe that the U.S. is far superior, we have no need to study and learn about other countries. How sad! They all have much to teach us and as history shows, we usually don't even try to understand, but rather kill and occupy them without having a clue about their perspectives.

Joselito--I just watched Snow Falling on Cedars the other night on HBO--had skimmed the book many years ago, when it first was published. But I was thinking of the American reactions to/treatment of Americans of Japanese descent during/after WWII and comparing it to current US reactions to Chinese (either American citizens or from China). Did you know that the largest race riot (anti-Chinese) in US history happened in Wyoming, resulting in quite a number of Chinese deaths? (late 1800s--don't remember the date)

I don't know that this is an exclusively American problem, but it is very visible because we are a large country who claim to espouse certain values.

M

Although in my family it was I who first envisioned living and possibly working as a 'missionary' in China, so far it has been other members who have fulfilled their dream. In the 1980's, a brother of mine served as an associate administrator for the Taiwan Adventist Hospital. In the 1990's, another brother worked as a project manager for a multinational beer company, first near Beijing and later outside Shanghai. Together with other family members, they have since visited my father's ancestral home, located a long distance from Xiamen. My son, Victor, arrived yesterday in LA, having spent 2 months visiting a friend's family in Kaoshiung, Taiwan. Late last year, my other son, Jonathan, accompanied (on the piano) a ballet production in Shanghai.

While we are still gathering information from several different sources, suspending judgment is necessary since isolated experiences may clarify and cloud our view at the same time.

Reviewing David Aikman's booklength account, China Education Exchange Program director Myrrl Byler submits the following report in the Christian Century (2004):

'... young church leaders are being trained in many places besides the more clandestine seminaries described in the book [Jesus in Beijing by David Aikman]. Thousands of churches across China openly organize training classes--from several weeks to a year long--for house church leaders. Rapid church growth increases the workload of leaders and pastors and underscores the need for more and better training, especially in the countryside.

'... While much of Aikman's historical information is well supported, he does push familiar misperceptions.

'The distinction between liberals and conservatives is quite irrelevant to the majority of believers in China. While a handful of leaders within the Three-Self Movement may be described as theologically liberal, the overwhelming majority of pastors and believers within the registered churches remain very conservative on almost all issues, with the exception of the role of women in leadership.

'Contrary to the impression the book gives, pastors do preach on the second coming of Christ, and they are not paid by the government. There certainly are controls and limits, and too often there is government interference in the work of the church. But Aikman paints a negative picture of the government leaders who oversee religion, without acknowledging that some of' them assist local churches--for example, by helping them regain church property, or buildings. There are church leaders whom believers do not support, leaders who are too close to the government, and many believers have become disillusioned with church politics. However, this is true of both registered churches and clandestine house churches, and some leave house churches because of the personality cults that arise around powerful leaders.

'... Aikman joins the speculation on [Bishop] Ting's status as a Communist Party member, but the evidence he offers will be more convincing to those predisposed to believe the assertions than to those who examine this evidence more critically. While I have met many pastors who disagree with Ting's theology, they also understand the complex issues he has faced and appreciate what he has done to advance the cause of the church...

'Aikman is less critical of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association than he is of its Protestant counterpart. Despite the tension between the Vatican and the Beijing government, there is often better understanding between China's underground Catholics and those in the official patriotic association. Although Catholics are not growing in number as rapidly as Protestants, the Catholic Church provides its leaders with education opportunities and seeks to engage the larger society on some social issues.

'While foreign missionaries have influenced some of the clandestine house church networks, their influence does not extend to the larger church. The Western missionary adventure stories of subterfuge that Aikman tells make for interesting reading, but they also perpetuate old stereotypes. The suffering of some believers is real, and the fines some are required to pay are excessive. Unfortunately, their sufferings are sometimes indirectly caused by "heroic" foreign missionaries playing to audiences outside of China. Many Christian organizations involved in sending teachers to China may be troubled by the impression Aikman gives that most Christian teachers of English in China are primarily interested in evangelism. In fact, many Christian organizations and teachers feel that their chief contribution lies in the quality of their professional work.'

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_7_121/ai_n5992717?tag=con...

Interesting is the observation regarding the prominent leadership role of women among Christians in China. Outside China, at least in Manila, as far as I know, the literacy rate among Chinese women is much higher than the men.

I agree with Byler that Christian teachers, not least in China, should be known, first and foremost, for the quality of their professional work.

Lastly, one question in my mind: Which of the many versions of Adventism, that may be found in the U.S., I wonder, is being promoted in China today? Is it like what has been prescibed by the Griggs Online University? Others?

I also agree about the quality of Christian teachers. I don't remember that emphasis in my reading of Aikman's book (the evangelical as opposed to the quality of teacher), but I have seen both sides of the issue. The christian teachers who are asked to stay at their universities are the ones who are quality teachers.

there was a recent story of people who flew into Kunming with over 300 Bibles. When they were stopped at the airport, they raised a huge fuss about their legal rights and laws and such. The sarcastic comment by a person who lives in Kunming was, well, that makes our job easier!

This is, in a way, very similar to those who agitate for other views of people in China. For example, the Tibetan issue has been so politicized that many NGOs (many of them Christian) who worked with Tibetans have been kicked out of the country this summer. I met several people this summer who are in this situation (some of them had been teachers, and others were teacher educators in rural areas in the tibetan plateau--none of them SDA but all Christian) and trying to stay in a Tibetan area with different visas (mostly student). Those on the outside who make lots of noise make it very difficult for those on the inside who are actually working with the people who are affected.

And, as the writer you quoted so aptly points out, all politics in China are ultimately local. If the local leaders are favorable or friendly or indifferent to Christianity, there is more freedom. If they are antagonistic, there is little or none.

m

M

Thanks for keeping this conversation alive. My connection with China and the Chinese has been indirect, mainly through those who I have met personally outside the mainland. It seems that Chinese Adventism is still very traditional, conservative, and fundamentalist (pardon the label). Did anyone else notice, besides me, how the original piece for this thread has been framed - in historic Adventist fashion of the Great Controversy? Why I asked, "Which of the many versions of Adventist Christianity is being promoted in China?"

'I can imagine Christian churches around the world questioning why God would allow Communism to sweep into control across China...

"The government seems to appreciate our stance and, at least for the moment, all is well. But I’ve always said to be cautious. Someday when the “dragon” awakens, we’d better watch out. See Revelation 12:17.'