Seminary Lecturer Discusses Protestantism in Guangdong,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000460

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV SOCI CH
SUBJECT: Seminary Lecturer Discusses Protestantism in Guangdong,
Harmonious Society, Underground Churches

REFERENCE: Beijing 1963

(U) This document is sensitive but unclassified. Please protect
accordingly.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A lecturer at the Guangdong Union Theological
Seminary provided an overview of the small but active provincial
Protestant community. It has ties with U.S. and Hong Kong religious
institutions and seeks to maintain good relations with the
government. Local governments have encouraged Guangdong religious
organizations to provide more social services, particularly disaster
relief, under the rubric of building a "harmonious society."
Underground churches do not register because of historical,
practical, or ideological reasons. END SUMMARY

Protestantism in Guangdong
--------------


2. (SBU) Guangdong Union Theological Seminary lecturer Huang Tianhua
described Guangdong's Christian community as relatively small
compared to other provinces, such as Fujian, Zhejiang, and Henan.
He told Congenoff on April 4 that Guangdong has 700 Protestant
churches with 300,000 registered members. Many of the churches are
located in villages and in the northeast part of the province, in
cities such as Shantou, Meizhou, and Shanwei. He said the number of
Christians in Guangdong is growing, though it has slowed from the
pace of a few years ago.


3. (SBU) Though Protestant churches are officially
non-denominational, Huang said individual churches sometimes align
themselves with particular doctrines. He noted that many of
Guangzhou's churches follow Methodist or Anglican teachings because
of the British influence during the 19th century. Guangdong's rural
churches are generally more fundamentalist that urban churches,
according to Huang. He said the church derives all of its funding
from donations and receives no government financial support
whatsoever. Very little funding comes from foreign sources, with
the occasional exception of money coming from Hong Kong.


4. (SBU) Since proselytizing is illegal in China, churches rely on
word of mouth to gain new members. He said churches are allowed to
distribute one-page flyers quoting scripture on their grounds, but
cannot pass out pamphlets on the street. In a recent conversation
with Congenoff, the president of the Guangzhou International
Christian Fellowship (GIFC) said that, beginning a couple of years
ago, some Guangzhou churches have begun distributing pamphlets on
the streets. He added that government officials are no doubt aware
of the practice.

International Exchanges
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5. (SBU) Huang said the increasing frequency of exchanges between
Chinese and foreign students, teachers, and pastors has made the
Protestant church a more modern organization. Most of the Guangdong
seminary's international exchanges are with Hong Kong, the United
States, and Europe. Tuition is typically funded through
scholarships at the receiving institution. Huang has traveled to
the United States a number of times, including three times during
the past year. A conference hosted by the Fuller Theological
Seminary in March, at which Huang participated, included teachers
from several Chinese seminaries as well as pastors from grassroots
churches in Anhui, Jiangxi, and Hangzhou.


6. (SBU) Though Chinese law prohibits foreign pastors from preaching
in Chinese churches, the government has not prevented them from
lecturing at the Guangdong seminary. Huang added that the Guangdong
seminary frequently hosts guest lecturers, and two American pastors
were arriving the following week, one a Baptist from Tennessee and
the other an Anglican from Connecticut.

Relations with the Government; Building a "Harmonious Society"
-------------- --------------


7. (SBU) Huang was positive about the relationship among Guangdong
churches, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and GCC, and the
government. He said the Religious Affairs Bureau does not typically
deal directly with individual churches; rather TSPM and GCC act as
liaisons. Huang stressed that TSPM and GCC are not government
agencies, and represent the interest of churches. Practically
speaking, TSPM and GCC are the same organization as they use the
same staff, according to Huang.


8. (SBU) Huang said China's religious organizations are contributing
to a more active civil society while also supporting the

GUANGZHOU 00000460 002 OF 002


government's policy of building a "harmonious society." Huang noted
that government approval is more forthcoming now than in the past
for church-related social services such as day care, medical
assistance, and educational scholarships. Officials have also put
pressure on religious groups in recent years to contribute
financially to disaster relief efforts. Huang said Christians
should see this as an opportunity to prove their worth "through
deeds instead of words."

Underground Churches and Cults
--------------


9. (SBU) Huang acknowledged that underground churches are common in
Guangdong, but could not estimate their size or number. When asked
why these groups choose not to register, he said it is usually for
one of three reasons: historical (they see GCC as a government
puppet, which Huang said was true 25 years ago but is no longer the
case); practical (they fail to reach required thresholds for
members, financial reporting, or facility safety); and theological
(they see registering as "obeying man instead of God"). Huang
emphasized that it is in the long-term interest of underground
churches to register because they can draw on the legal and
management expertise of GCC. Religious cults are rare in Guangdong,
according to Huang, but are nevertheless a concern in rural areas
because registered and unregistered village churches lack trained
pastors.

Biographic Information
--------------


10. (SBU) Reverend Huang began teaching at the Guangdong Protestant
Seminary in 2006, after completing a three-year master's degree in
theology in Hong Kong at the China Graduate School of Theology.
Prior to that, he worked in Guangzhou as a pastor and administrator
for the Guangdong Christian Council (GCC) for 11 years. He is
originally from Meizhou, Guangdong and speaks Cantonese, Hakka,
Mandarin, and English. The Guangdong seminary, which is one of 18
Protestant seminaries in China and celebrated its 20th anniversary
in 2006, has 72 students, eight full-time faculty, and ten part-time
faculty.

GOLDBERG