CHRISTIANITY GAINING POPULARITY IN XINJIANG, EVEN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 011753

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2031
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS CH
SUBJECT: CHRISTIANITY GAINING POPULARITY IN XINJIANG, EVEN
AMONG UIGHURS

REF: BEIJING 11606

Classified By: Classified by Acting Political Internal Unit Chief
Susan Thornton. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Interest in Christianity is growing in the
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR),but local
authorities are reportedly trying to control the
growth in order to avoid conflicts with the majority
Muslim community. According to local Christian
leaders and congregants, the community's growth is
largely due to increasing demand for satisfaction of
spiritual needs, particularly among young people, who
represent the largest percentage of new converts. The
local Government, however, has denied permission for
the operation of a Christian Sunday school in Urumqi
because it fears angering local Muslims, who are
prohibited from providing religious education to
minors. While most converts are Han Chinese, there is
growing interest in Christianity among Uighurs, who
are careful to practice quietly in order to avoid
retribution from disapproving fellow Muslims. End
Summary.

Xinjiang Christian Community Continues to Grow
-------------- -


2. (C) Christianity is attracting new believers in
the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR),
particularly in the capital Urumqi, various contacts
told Poloffs during a late May visit to the XUAR.
(Note: The term Christianity in Chinese denotes
Protestantism and in our conversations did not include
Xinjiang's small Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox
communities. End Note.) Pastor Fan Chenguang of the
Mingde Street Church, the oldest and largest of
Urumqi's 17 churches, founded in the 1940s, asserted
that there are approximately 20,000 Christians in the
city and 100,000 in all of Xinjiang. The government's
Xinjiang-wide statistic of 60,000 does not take into
account worshippers at house churches, which are
increasing because there are not enough authorized
churches to accommodate the needs of the growing
community, Fan stated.


3. (C) The local government has attempted to limit
the spread of Christianity and the establishment of
new churches out of fear that the growth could
antagonize Xinjiang's large Muslim population, Pastor
Fan explained. Nonetheless, Christianity is becoming
increasingly popular in predominately Uighur Muslim
Southern Xinjiang. She estimated that there are
nearly ten thousand Christians in Korla, several
thousand in Aksu and even a small community in the
Uighur cultural capital, Kashgar, although Kashgar's
Christians worship exclusively in house churches.
Urumqi's Christian community has helped and donated
money to these smaller communities for the
construction of churches and other activities, Fan
noted. Elder congregants have been especially
generous in their contributions to Christian causes.


4. (C) Pastor Fan and other contacts attributed the
growth in Xinjiang's Christian community to an
increasing recognition of unmet spiritual needs,
especially among those between the ages of 20 and 40.
In addition to the 4,000 participants in Mingde's two
Sunday services, approximately 500 congregants attend
the church's Tuesday evening youth study sessions.
Two-thirds of the 200 baptisms performed each year are
for relatively young converts. A mid-20s broadcaster
on Xinjiang Radio, Zhou Jianfeng (protect),told
Poloffs that he has witnessed a several-fold increase
in the number of church goers each Sunday since he
became a Christian four years ago. While remarking
that he does not advertise his faith in his workplace,
a state-sponsored news station, Zhou stated that he
also does not conceal his Christian beliefs.


5. (C) Asked if minors below the age of 18 are
permitted to attend prayers or other church
activities, Fan stated that a few children accompany
their parents to Sunday services. The government,
however, has not approved the church's requests to
operate a Sunday school for children. The government
prohibits religious education for Muslim youth under
18, so it fears that allowing the church to run a
Sunday school would anger local Muslims.


BEIJING 00011753 002.2 OF 002


Some Uighurs Attracted to Christianity
--------------


6. (C) Although most Christian converts are Han
Chinese, there are more Uighurs practicing or becoming
interested in Christianity, Pastor Fan observed. The
church "protects the identity" of Uighur Christians,
for fear that they will be targeted or harmed by other
Uighurs who strongly disapprove of fellow Muslims
converting to Christianity. Most Uighur Christians
attend house prayers, although some visit the Mingde
Church to purchase Bibles, she said.


7. (C) One Uighur resident of Korla, capital of the
Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, told
Poloffs that she attends prayers in the home of a few
American English instructors from the Korla Teachers'
College. This nursing school student noted that "many
students" attend these weekly prayers. Many of
Urumqi's foreign teachers are proselytizing quietly
and holding prayer sessions in their homes, Fan
remarked. Foreign Christians occasionally attend
Mindge's services, but the church must apply for
official permission if a foreigner wishes to address
the congregation. UK Save the Children Xinjiang
Program Manager Mark Jenkins (protect),who often
travels to small cities in Southern Xinjiang,
commented that local authorities appear to turn a
blind eye to low profile religious activities of
foreign Christian missionaries, most of whom work
locally as English teachers for very low or no pay.

Korla Reacts to Unauthorized Christian Activities
-------------- --------------


8. (C) Bayingolin Ethnic and Religious Affairs
Commission Deputy Director Lei Xianliang reported that
most of the prefecture's 2,250 Protestants reside in
Korla and that the city is served by two churches and
three designated Christian "activity centers." (Note
the disparity between the official figure and Pastor
Fan's estimate of nearly 10,000 Christians in Korla.)
Korla only has 220 Catholics and one Catholic activity
center. While asserting that Korla has not
experienced any significant "religious turmoil" in the
past 20 years, Lei remarked that the city has
encountered some problems with unauthorized Christian
teaching and prayer activities, especially given the
growth in the Christian population since the late
1990s. Therefore, the government established a three-
pronged program of designating specific Christian
venues, congregations and community leaders. Korla
also set up a local branch of the official Three-Self
Patriotic Movement to better manage the community's
Christian affairs.


9. (C) Asked about a media report that Korla
officials broke up 2005 Christmas services, Lei
contended that the report was not completely accurate.
Some proselytizers from outside Korla, including from
Hong Kong, South Korea and the United States, came to
the city last Christmas and organized an unauthorized
service in a hotel, he stated. Christmas activities
must be held in a designated religious venue and not
in a public place, such as a hotel. Authorities
dispersed but did not punish any of the participants,
Lei maintained. He also asserted that while single
families are permitted to pray in non-designated
venues, such as the home, they cannot invite outsiders
to partake in the service.
RANDT