Friday, October 17, 1997

A dangerous trap set by oppressors

By Linda Chavez

It began as a personal mission by an American rabbi to help free a Christian dissident jailed in China.

"I am going as an ‘ambassador of good will' to build a relationship of trust with the authorities, discuss with them the situation of religious freedom in China, and convey to them the concerns of our constituency in the Christian and Jewish communities," Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, wrote in a letter to a U.S. senator two weeks before he left for Beijing.

His immediate goal was to aid Rev. Xu Yongze, a Protestant leader of China's underground churches. Less than a month after Eckstein's return from China, the mission stands as a stunning example of how China often uses American religious leaders for its own political ends.

Rev. Xu is one of hundreds of religious leaders who languish in Chinese jails or under house arrest. Last week, Bishop Su Zhimin, a Roman Catholic bishop, was taken into custody in Hebei province. These men, and thousands of others, are persecuted by the Chinese government for daring to follow the dictates of their conscience in practicing their religion.

The Chinese government claims it does not persecute people for their religious views but only punishes those who are a "threat" to state security. What constitutes such a threat? Prayer, for one thing.

Last year, according to The New York Times, the Chinese used armored cars and helicopters to destroy a shrine set up by Chinese Catholics to venerate Mary at a site visited by more than 100,000 pilgrims during the previous year.

The government's heavy-handed tactics, nonetheless, have not deterred some American religious leaders from falling prey to the Chinese propaganda. When Eckstein visited Beijing, he met with Ye Xiao Wen, director of the government's Religious Affairs Bureau. The bureau, a de facto arm of the Communist Party in China, controls all official state churches -- the only religious institutions allowed to operate in the country.

Eckstein proposed to Ye that China and the United States form a "joint commission," which would ensure "due process" when incidents of abuse occur, according to an interview with Eckstein, which was released on Sept. 16 by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Eckstein told the JTA he saw his efforts as a "successful first overture" in dealing with religious persecution in China.

But the Chinese have a very different idea of due process than Eckstein intended. The day after the rabbi's interview appeared, Xu was sentenced to 10 years hard labor.

Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House, explains the Chinese response this way: "The Chinese raise a trial balloon with Americans from the religious community. When the line is accepted and exported back to the United States, the Chinese see it as a green light." Shea's frustration with Eckstein's effort led her to disassociate her group from working with Eckstein on the issue of religious persecution.

Eckstein's actions have led to further ruptures. Joseph Assad, the fellowship's project director for religious persecution, has resigned. Chris Gersten, the director of the Center for Jewish and Christian Values, which had been a project of Eckstein's fellowship, has moved to separate the center from Eckstein's group in part because of Eckstein's trip. (In the interest of full disclosure, Gersten, who was the director of refugee resettlement for the Bush administration, is my husband.)

Eckstein is not the first well-intended religious figure to be duped by the Chinese. Ned Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, has also met with Communist government officials and written in glowing terms of the religious freedoms enjoyed by those in China, North Korea and other dictatorships. Graham actually sent a letter to his supporters from "the beautiful city of Pyongyang, North Korea."

In the letter, he, too, referred to his discussions with the head of China's Religious Affairs Bureau, Ye, and talked about the "often exaggerated reports of persecution" circulating in the United States. The National Council of Churches also claims that China respects religious freedom.

Xu's 10-year sentence and Su's recent arrest need no exaggeration. These are barbaric acts by a government with utter contempt for religious expression.

Members of America's religious communities who deal with these oppressors not only harm their own reputations but risk further jeopardizing those Chinese Christians whom they intend to help.

Creators Syndicate, Inc.