Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07CHIANGMAI116
2007-06-26 06:58:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Chiang Mai
Cable title:  

CHIANG MAI SERVES AS BASE FOR CHINA-FOCUSED CHRISTIAN GROUP

Tags:  PHUM CASC PREL KIRF SOCI OEXC TH CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5686
PP RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHVC
DE RUEHCHI #0116 1770658
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 260658Z JUN 07
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0508
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 0738
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI PRIORITY 0557
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0005
C O N F I D E N T I A L CHIANG MAI 000116 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/26/2017
TAGS: PHUM CASC PREL KIRF SOCI OEXC TH CH
SUBJECT: CHIANG MAI SERVES AS BASE FOR CHINA-FOCUSED CHRISTIAN GROUP

REF: A. A) BEIJING 4237 - AMERICANS EXPELLED FROM XINJIANG FOR RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES


B. B) (05) CHIANG MAI 106 - CHIANG MAI EXPANDS AS HUB FOR CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY WORK IN ASIA

CLASSIFIED BY: Bea Camp, Consul General, Consulate Chiang Mai,
Dept of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L CHIANG MAI 000116

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/26/2017
TAGS: PHUM CASC PREL KIRF SOCI OEXC TH CH
SUBJECT: CHIANG MAI SERVES AS BASE FOR CHINA-FOCUSED CHRISTIAN GROUP

REF: A. A) BEIJING 4237 - AMERICANS EXPELLED FROM XINJIANG FOR RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES


B. B) (05) CHIANG MAI 106 - CHIANG MAI EXPANDS AS HUB FOR CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY WORK IN ASIA

CLASSIFIED BY: Bea Camp, Consul General, Consulate Chiang Mai,
Dept of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)


1. (C) Summary. Chiang Mai's large foreign Christian community
provides a safe base for religious groups engaged in quiet work
elsewhere in the region. While most do not identify their
activities to the Consulate, our presence and American citizen
services contribute to Chiang Mai's appeal for these
organizations. End summary.


2. (U) Northern Thailand, with an American missionary presence
dating from 1867, has served as a fall-back zone for religious
groups forced out of China, Tibet, and Burma for over half a
century. More recently, Chiang Mai has attracted organizations
such as the Christian Conference of Asia, which moved from Hong
Kong in 2005 (ref b),as well as those seeking temporary haven,
such as Pakistan's Murree Christian School in 2003.


3. (C) A look at one of these groups, Friends of China (FOC),
shows a route by which religiously motivated individuals find
their way into China as English teachers and "qualified
professionals in various fields". The foundation, which moved
its regional office to Chiang Mai in 1997 after a decade in Hong
Kong, lists Chengdu as the main China location, with rep offices
in Xining, Xian and Urumqi. FOC currently has about 150
"associates" working in 7 provinces and municipalities in China.
An estimated 40 percent of these associates are US citizens.


4. (C) The FOC website includes no reference to religion,
referring instead to "support for education". In contrast, a
brochure available at the Thailand office defines FOC as "a
charitable foundation that seeks to place, equip and support
Christian professionals serving primarily in western and central
China." The Chiang Mai office director, a Norwegian who worked
in China for Ericsson as part of the program, says that FOC
associates do not hide their religion but are advised on the
prevailing cultural boundaries of their various locations.


5. (SBU) A visit to the back-street Chiang Mai office of FOC
included a tour by an American teacher who was helping staff the
office while on leave from Zhengzhou during the last trimester
of his wife's pregnancy. Chiang Mai's medical facilities, low
cost of living, church community and access to Consular Reports
of Birth Abroad contribute to this kind of arrangement.


6. (C) Applications for FOC jobs pass through the Chiang Mai
office, where they are cleansed of references to religious
affiliation before being sent on to Chengdu for processing.
Most associates enter China through Chiang Mai, where they
receive a short orientation and apply at the Chinese Consulate
for visas. The receiving work units in China arrange
longer-term visas for those under their responsibility.


7. (C) In response to questions about visas and other
procedures, the head of the Chiang Mai office repeatedly
referred to Chinese "flexibility", noting that flexibility
increases with distance from Beijing. He rated Qinghai as "the
most flexible" province, acknowledging that Xinjiang is
particularly sensitive. Although no FOC associates have been
expelled from the country in the organization's 20 year history,
several have not have their visas renewed, including recently a
Swedish couple in Xinjiang.

CAMP