SALE OF CHRISTIAN LITERATURE EXPANDING IN CHINA,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIJING 004020 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM, DRL NSC FOR WILDER E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2033 TAGS: CH KIRF PGOV PHUM PREL SUBJECT: SALE OF CHRISTIAN LITERATURE EXPANDING IN CHINA, DESPITE LIMITS REF: SHANGHAI 374 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The sale of Christian literature by private firms in China continues to expand, and rapidly so, according to Embassy contacts in the religious literature industry. Despite having first appeared only in 2002, Christian-themed bookstores now number 100 to 200 nationwide; one distributor has told us that he sells religious works across much of China. In Beijing, private and official Christian bookstores operate with varying degrees of openness. While the overall availability of Christian publications has expanded, the sale of some works (e.g., Bibles) faces restrictions, even as some private booksellers bend the rules in order to sell them. Government regulations, uneven application of publishing rules and economic factors continue to limit the number and types of Christian books that appear on Chinese bookshelves. End Summary. SMALL BUT GROWING: CHINA'S CHRISTIAN BOOK INDUSTRY -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Christian bookstores and wholesale distributors of Christian literature began appearing openly in China around 2002, according to Pang Har (strictly protect),a Malaysian citizen and Resource Coordinator for Beijing International Christian Fellowship (BICF),a church for foreign residents of Beijing; and Rob Eberz (strictly protect),an American citizen and Project Manager for a foreign-owned Christian book distributor and publishing services firm that employs several Chinese employees. (Note: Eberz requested that PolOff not use his company's name in any reports on this subject.) Le Geng (strictly protect),a PRC citizen and owner of Christian bookstores in Beijing and Wuhan, said his Beijing store, "By the Stream" (BTS),was among the first of its kind when it opened in 2002. Christian bookstores in China, according to the Amcit Eberz, are basically "independent operations with a Christian theme." BICF's Pang estimated there are "more than 100" Christian bookstores nationwide, with Eberz putting the number at "about 200." ¶3. (C) Eberz, Le and Pang all separately told POLOFF that prospects are "exceptional" for continued rapid expansion of China's nascent market for Christian literature. "China is a very good market for Christian materials," Peng recently declared to PolOff. Most Christian texts available in China are works by foreign authors that have been translated into Chinese, with many having been written by non-PRC Chinese writers. A handful of texts, however, have been authored by Mainland Chinese authors. Though "the church in Mainland China is still very young," Pang said, the future of Christian literature in China will include "many talented writers whose gifts will eventually be discovered." Eberz's book distributor sponsors projects specifically designed to promote authorship of Christian literature by Mainland writers. The first such project, a Chinese Christian professor's account of his years in the United States, was published in September 2006. PRIVATE BOOKSTORES MORE ACCESSIBLE THAN OFFICIAL OUTLETS -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Working from his street-level "By the Stream" (BTS) shop with signage clearly identifying it as a Christian bookstore, Le said he sells more than 200 Christian-themed books that are published legally in China. BTS purchases books from an array of publishers and distributors, including Amcit Eberz's business, as well as a number of provincial and university publishing houses (e.g., the Peking University, Sichuan University, Fudan University, Inner Mongolia Peoples and Jiangxi publishing houses). Le's titles include well-known Christian works from authors such as Martin Luther, Saint Augustine, John Bunyan and C.S. Lewis, as well as works from present-day Christian scholars and popular Christian writers such as Alister McGrath, R.C. Sproul, James Dobson and Josh McDowell. BTS also sells these works on its website (www.bystream.com),through which Le says he receives orders from throughout China. (Note: Le's BTS also had for sale a few "high-end," leather-bound Bibles, as explained in greater detail below.) ¶5. (C) Significantly larger than BTS, the "Grace Spring" BEIJING 00004020 002 OF 004 bookstore sits in the high-traffic, first-floor section of Haidian Book City, a five-story book market near the Peking and Tsinghua University campuses. Grace Spring's inventory includes hundreds of Christian-themed scholarly works and biographies, histories of Christianity in China, Christian living titles and testimonies of Chinese Christian authors. Zhai Jiexia (strictly protect),a Peking University graduate who converted to Christianity while earning her doctoral degree in the United States, told POLOFF that many intellectuals who are exploring Christianity, as well as Christian members of Beijing's academic community, patronize Grace Spring. ¶6. (C) "The Rock Books and Gifts" store operates inside a diner in Beijing's Shunyi suburb. Although "The Rock" is not apparent to passersby, the Christian bookstore section is the most prominent feature inside, easily visible to guests within the restaurant. Store attendant Yan Jie (strictly protect) told POLOFF September 20 that the diner's Christian customers easily deduce the bookstore's religious theme from its name. Yet local officials, who are not believers, do not know that The Rock sells Christian books, Yan claimed. Started in 2006 by ethnic Chinese Malaysian citizen Fee Ling (strictly protect),The Rock categorizes its stock of roughly 200 titles into several groupings including Christian Literature, Theology, Bibles and Church Manuals, Marriage and Family, Child Education, Encouragement, Biographies and Devotionals, with most being foreign works translated into Chinese. It also sells religious CDs and DVDs as well as trinkets with Christian logos. ¶7. (C) Least accessible among the shops POLOFF visited was an official Christian bookstore, the Chaoyang Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) Church bookstore, which operates from a small room inside the Chaoyang TSPM church complex. A church employee met POLOFF at a gate fronting onto a main road and led him to the bookstore inside the church. Books lay enclosed in glass display cases behind a counter, preventing the casual browsing possible for customers at the private bookstores visited by PolOff. Restricted business hours (8:30 to 11:30 a.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday) further limit store access, especially for customers who would not otherwise visit the church for services. Books on sale included Bibles (Chinese versions and Chinese-English editions),scholarly commentaries, theology books, apologetics books, devotionals and books on Christian living. Prices on Bibles ranged from RMB 3.5 (USD 0.52) for a small softcover New Testament version, to RMB 80 (USD 11.76) for a hardcover edition. Church volunteer Nigel Wang (strictly protect) told POLOFF that most of the books for sale are translations of works written outside China. One display case at the Chaoyang TSPM store held books distributed by Eberz's firm. SALE OF BIBLES: PRIVATE BOOKSELLERS BEND RULES -------------- - ¶8. (C) The number of Christian books available in China remains small by comparison to the numbers available in other countries, Le and Eberz separately told PolOff. Part of the reason for the relatively low numbers is that Chinese law forbids the sale of books published outside of China, as explained by the Chaoyang TSPM Church bookstore's Wang. Nevertheless, Wang conceded that some private stores sell Christian books acquired "through other channels" (e.g., imported from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and elsewhere). He stressed that all the books at the TSPM store, however, were published in China in association with the China Christian Council (CCC) and TSPM. The Amcit Eberz and BTS's Le admitted some Christian bookstores do, in fact, augment their stocks by selling books published in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, the United States and other locations. But, this "gray-area" practice carries added risk, because imported books cannot legally be resold, Eberz commented. For example, apart from a few leather-bound imported Bibles, BTS's Le limits his stock to books and materials published legally in China. Le said that BTS' selection of books is nevertheless broad enough to draw "house church" Christians (who make up most of his customers) away from TSPM bookstores. ¶9. (C) Legally, only TSPM churches may sell Bibles, Le stated. Eberz separately stressed to POLOFF that bookstores can be "closed down" for selling Bibles, since this would involve "operating outside one's license." Nevertheless, TSPM bookstores "do not strictly manage" the sale of Bibles, according to Le, with TSPM, for example, considering the sale of Bibles at cost (sans profit) to be "a service." Le said he therefore sometimes buys entire boxes of Bibles from a BEIJING 00004020 003 OF 004 TSPM book store, which he then "loans" or "gives away," still a relatively cheap way of distributing Bibles given that the cheapest full-sized Bible from a TSPM store runs only RMB 9 (USD 1.33). ¶10. (C) As noted above, Le also sells a few "high-end," imported leather-bound Bibles at BTS to customers willing to pay a premium. The Rock store also sells Chinese Bibles published outside of China. (Note: The day POLOFF visited, The Rock stocked two dozen or so Chinese New Version (CNV) Bibles published by the Worldwide Bible Society, for sale at a price of RMB 10 (USD 1.47). The Rock does not sell the 1919 Chinese Union Version (heheben) in standard use in TSPM churches, but instead sells only the CNV (xinyiben),which is a 1992 translation popular for its use of more modern language and diction.) Yan, the attendant at The Rock, conceded that there are "not many Bibles sold outside TSPM churches" but insisted that The Rock's decision to sell Bibles was "not a problem." NATIONWIDE DISTRIBUTOR SELLS CHRSTIAN WORKS WIDELY -------------- -------------- ¶11. (C) Eberz described for POLOFF his Christian literature distribution business, which sells religious works across much of China. Eberz's firm distributes Christian literature through Christian bookstores like BTS, as well as large commercial chains such as Xinhua, Carrefour and Wal-Mart, and on websites including joyo.com, dangdang.com and the company's own website. While Eberz's firm provides a range of publishing-related services, it is not a "publisher" under Chinese law. State publishing houses alone are authorized to publish in China, so Eberz's company cooperates with a state publishing house to navigate the censorship process, to obtain an (ISBN) and to have a book printed. His company also engages in translating, editing, distribution and sales of Christian literature. ¶12. (C) To limit arbitrary disruptions to publication and distribution that can occur because state publishing houses are not operated as profit-making ventures, Eberz said his company only enters into work agreements with state publishing houses that agree to cede control over the printing and distribution of a book. Experienced Chinese editors at Eberz's firm facilitate the book's smooth passage through the state censorship process by sanitizing content "in need of revision or deletion." After vetting a book, Eberz's company forwards it to the state publisher for final review. Books that successfully pass the state publisher's censorship review receive ISBN numbers authorizing distribution in China. ¶13. (C) Eberz has received approval to distribute widely biographies of missionaries and other Christians, as well as books on family and marriage, counseling with a Christian world view and books offering personal testimonies of Christians working in business, politics, sports or entertainment. In addition, university publishing houses print a range of Christian texts that includes serious theological works by authors such as C.S. Lewis and John Bunyan. However, Eberz cannot obtain ISBNs for Bible commentaries, doctrinal treatises, books explicitly describing Christian practices and books with "more spiritual titles." These books may only be published by Amity Press (see reftel),which is closely affiliated with the China Christian Council (CCC),and are sold without ISBNs only at TSPM bookstores. Censors bar the publication of some books, Eberz said. Christian books discussing the importance of fasting, for example, are "sensitive" because authorities see fasting as connected to Falun Gong practice. Censors deny approval to materials that are "outright evangelistic," Eberz added, including books that promote proselytizing. UNEVEN APPLICATION OF THE RULES -------------- ¶14. (C) Uneven application of rules governing religious literature affects the publication and distribution of Christian literature, contacts said, thus requiring a "flexible response" on the part of book sellers and distributors. "Things change very fast in China," Pang said, and the "windows of opportunity" for publishers, retailers and distributors open and close "frequently." During periods of heightened scrutiny, Eberz said his company selects books more likely to be accepted by cautious censors. For example, the number of ISBN numbers issued in the period before the Olympics was "far less than normal," Eberz stated, so his firm adapted by seeking publication of books that were BEIJING 00004020 004 OF 004 relatively "light" on "theological content." But once the Olympic Games were underway, Eberz added, authorities "exhaled" and told Eberz and others in the industry, "Let's talk now." In early September, authorities granted Eberz's firm permission to print materials it had been requesting since October 2006, though a backlog of titles still remains. During more "relaxed" periods, Eberz and his colleagues "push the envelope" by submitting "more sensitive" materials for approval by censors in an attempt to find the "line" separating what can and cannot be published. ECONOMIC FACTORS RESTRICT PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION -------------- -------------- ¶15. (C) Economic conditions in China's publishing industry place additional limits on the distribution of books, including Christian works, according to Eberz. Whereas U.S. book distributors receive money when a bookstore makes a wholesale purchase, Chinese bookstores wait up to six months after a book is sold before remitting payment to the distributor, making the distributor's cash flow difficult to predict in the interim. Following decades of publishing by state-subsidized publishers unconcerned with profits, Chinese customers expect to pay low prices for books and literature and book distributors operate with extremely low profit margins. Thin margins force distributors to publish a narrower range of titles than they otherwise would, Eberz said. His firm must sell 60,000 to 80,000 copies of a book in order to recover its investment, whereas the required number of sales in the United States would be "roughly 3,000." BICF's Pang told POLOFF that Christian booksellers in China look to sales of Christian art, music, crafts and other products to augment thin profits earned from book sales. RANDT