China News

Edited by Tony Lambert

CURTAIN RISES ON A NEW ERA
A new era began in China on September 19 when Jiang Zemin gave up his last post as chairman of the Central Military Commission to make way for President Hu Jintao, completing the first orderly transfer of power since 1949. In his resignation letter Jiang expressed his full confidence in Mr. Hu. While Jiang’s style was rigid and he believed economic growth should take top priority, Hu’s is flexible and more practical advocating a “Putting the People First” policy and arguing that economic growth should be promoted in tandem with protection of the environment and of the weak and poor. (SCMP, 20 September 2004)

GUANGDONG’S POPULATION HITS 100 MILLION
Guangdong’s population has reached 100 million as migrants from inland provinces continue to flock to the new workshop of the world. The province now has 81 million permanent residents and 21 million registered migrant workers, making it more populous than most countries. The booming economy is the attraction. This figure does not include the millions of unregistered migrants from rural inland provinces who work and live in Guangdong for most of the year returning home only during holidays.

This growth has created huge pressures on public facilities, education, social security and medical services. The vice-director of the Guangdong Population and Family Planning Commission has warned that Guangdong needs to control its population growth. “We need to strengthen our control of population growth and promote sustainable growth.” (SCMP, 25 September 2004)

CHENGDU CARES FOR MIGRANT CHILDREN
While fortunate to have a swarm of migrant rural workers to help with its urban construction, Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, is confronted with the task of educating the children of the transient parents.

Statistics show Chengdu has two million immigrants, including 200,000 children who follow their parents to the city from the rural areas as they seek temporary or seasonal work in factories, service industries etc. Half of these 200,000 are from rural migrant workers. To ensure their education, the Chengdu government has included the compulsory education of migrant farmers’ children on its agenda.

There was a misconception in the past that compulsory education was only available to urban children and if the migrant workers’ children use these resources they have to pay extra management charges as well as miscellaneous fees. But things began to improve in 2001. To break the barriers between urban and rural children, the government has hammered out an indiscriminatory and even a bit rural-favored policy, to ensure the compulsory education of rural workers’ children. They are now entitled to the same nine-year compulsory education as their urban counterparts. All primary schools and high schools in the central areas of the city are open to rural children and have enrolled 43,457 of them. Chengdu allows children from struggling rural migrant parents to be exempt from miscellaneous fees and textbook fees and to receive a government subsidy as it does to other poor and disabled children. (China Daily, Sept. 04)

BEIJING TAKES PRECAUTIONS AGAINST CHRISTIANITY
CCP official sources reveal that Chinese Christians (both Protestants and Catholics) now total more than 45 million. There are 10 million underground believers. Many Party members have become Christians. Faced with this situation, in August Beijing issued three documents to take strict action against Christianity.

Official sources reveal that Protestants total 25 million—15 million in urban areas, 5 million in rural and 5 million “underground.” Catholics total 20 million—12 million in cities, 3 million in rural areas and 5 million “underground.” Christians mainly live in those coastal cities, villages and towns which are centers of political, economic and cultural influence. The annual growth rate of Protestants is 2.5 to 3 million and of Catholics, between 1 and 1.2 million. Beijing has particularly noted that young and middle-aged professionals, private entrepreneurs and middle-class people are eager to join the ranks of the Christians.

The Party’s Central Research Institute started to research the loss of faith in Marxism among Party members and cadres from the early ’90s. Out of more than 60 million Party members, there are 16-18 million who believe in various religions and they estimate that 3-4 million Party members and cadres are either Christians or have attended religious activities.

On August 12 the CCP Central Committee specially authorized the Central Organization Department, the Central Propaganda Department and the Procuratorate to issue “The Attitudes and Principles Concerning Questions of Religious Faith among Party Members and Party Cadres.” On August 17 the Central Committee Office and the Office of the State Council issued the circular “Some Opinions Concerning Strengthening the Leadership of Religious Affairs Work.” On August 21 the State Council authorized the Ministry of Education to issue “Some Opinions on Religious Activities and Religious Organizations in Institutes of Higher Education.”

The first document strictly forbids Party members from joining religious organizations. All Party members must make detailed reports on such religious activities to higher authority within a limited period. In the last three years, just in the provinces of Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, more than 230 high-level cadres have been dismissed from the Party for becoming believers or attending religious activities.

The second document demands that local governments and Party committees must make it a priority to control and manage the development and scope of activities of religious organizations in their locality in the interests of long-term stability. The central government prohibits the establishment of subordinate relationships with foreign religious organizations. This document also reveals that underground illegal religious forces and hostile religious and political forces have already “infiltrated” Party and other government organizations. A report from the Ministry of Public Security reveals that in 11 provinces and municipalities (Guangdong, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Beijing, Fujian, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hubei, Hebei, Henan and Chongqing) religious organizations and believers are multiplying so fast that local governments are in a quandary about what to do. The central government has placed religious activities and organizations in these 11 areas on a priority list for much stricter control.

The third document emphasizes that religious activities and ceremonies are forbidden in institutes of higher education. Teachers and students who are Party members and who join religious organizations will be expelled from the Communist Party without exception.

(Extracts taken from Zheng Ming Magazine, Hong Kong, Sept. 2004)
Note: We are unable to verify the statistics contained in this interesting article, but the magazine concerned is usually reliable in its general reporting on Mainland affairs. The TSPM is still publicly stating that only about 15 million people are Protestants. Compared to other estimates made by overseas researchers, figures given in Zheng Ming seem to underestimate the number of Protestants and overestimate the number of Catholics. The ratio of believers in town and country also does not tally with previous estimates. What is not in doubt is that the authorities are concerned about the growth of the church.

THE POWER OF CONVERSION
“I was born into a Christian family. However, in elementary school I started to turn bad. But God has been gracious to me. My family and several Christian sisters incessantly encouraged me to go back to church. I finally did so and gradually I changed. Before I was only a believer in name with lots of doubts and sceptical thoughts, now I am a true believer. My temper used to flare up easily, but now with God’s word shining upon me I seldom get mad. God is transforming me, filling my empty heart and giving my life direction and hope.” (Letter from Mr. Zhong in Guangdong province to FEBC, Sept. 2004)