NEW CHINA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT DISCUSSES CHALLENGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000385

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/CM, AND DRL/IRF
NSC FOR WILDER, LOI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/11/2033
TAGS: CH KIRF PGOV PINR
SUBJECT: NEW CHINA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT DISCUSSES CHALLENGES

REF: SHANGHAI 360

CLASSIFIED BY: Christopher Beede, Political/Economic Section
Chief, U.S. Consulate General, Shanghai, Department of State.

REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) Summary: Gao Feng, the new President of the China
Christian Council (CCC),said during a September 2 meeting with
Poloff that he would take steps to address challenges such as
the insufficient number of pastors and churches and the lack of
education opportunities for church workers and laymen, but he
offered few plans on how to do so, and he acknowledged the
difficulties faced by the CCC when competing with the private
sector for a limited pool of talented and educated young people.
Gao said he sees positive signs of increasing interest in
volunteerism among young people following the Sichuan earthquake
and Beijing Olympics, and he hopes Chinese churches will be able
to attract some of these volunteers and encourage them to
further devote themselves to society. Gao, a Shandong native
who is a newcomer to Shanghai, appeared tentative and unsure of
himself -- often deferring to subordinates -- during the
meeting. End Summary.

New Man in Town
--------------

2. (U) Gao Feng was elected President of the CCC in January 2008
for a five-year term. He previously served as President of the
Shandong Christian Council in Jinan. According to Gao, the
CCC's official figures now reflect that there are 16 million
Christians and 55,000 churches in China. He cited the CCC's
major challenges as improving theological education, expanding
volunteer training and foreign exchange opportunities, and
encouraging more social service.


3. (C) Gao was tentative and unsure, however, when he spoke
outside the relative comfort of official national statistics. A
newcomer to Shanghai, Gao admitted that he knew little about the
Protestant community in the municipality, deferring to
subordinates in the meeting for more information. According to
other CCC officials in attendance, there are now approximately
200,000 Christians in Shanghai and 178 churches. There are more
pastors in Shanghai than in many other urban centers in China,
they said, but the ratio of pastors to individual Christians
remains too low.

Facing the CCC's Challenges
--------------

4. (C) Gao acknowledged the many challenges faced by the CCC in
East China and throughout the country, but he offered few plans
on how to solve the CCC's problems. (Comment: Gao's lack of
vision in this regard and his perceived lack of experience is
one of the major reasons religious contacts have criticized him
in the past. See Reftel. End Comment.) In particular, Gao
said he would like the CCC to focus on increasing the number of
pastors and ensuring they have sufficient educational and
training opportunities (including going abroad for further
study). Laymen also need additional training, especially to
bolster the CCC's social service projects.


5. (C) He admitted that recruiting young people to become
pastors instead of businessmen is a major challenge for the CCC,
particularly in East China where business opportunities at a
much higher salary are plentiful. Thus it is difficult for the
CCC to compete with the private sector for a limited pool of
talented and educated young people. Gao was optimistic that the
church is growing, however, and the CCC therefore will be able
to attract a greater quantity of young people. Still, he
remains concerned about the quality of young pastors and laymen,
and he wants to train more pastors to meet young people's
expectations.

Hope for Volunteerism
--------------

6. (C) Gao is hopeful that more young people are interested in
volunteerism, particularly in the wake of the Sichuan earthquake
and Beijing Olympics where so many young people contributed to
something "bigger than themselves." Gao said he hopes Chinese
churches will be able to attract some of these volunteers and
encourage them to further devote themselves to society. Social
services in nursing homes, autism centers, and HIV/AIDS
prevention clinics are lacking in China, and the CCC needs to
fill this void, Gao said.

SHANGHAI 00000385 002 OF 002



Comment
--------------

7. (C) Gao was unimpressive and rigid in the meeting and did not
appear well-briefed. He was very polite and cordial, however,
and expressed his interest in having more contact with Consulate
officers. He has been criticized by others in the religious
community for being a bureaucratic functionary without a
long-term vision for the church (reftel),and on first glance,
this criticism appears warranted. End Comment.

Bio Note

--------------

8. (C) Gao is 46 years old and a native of Jinan, where he spent
the last five years as the President of the Shandong Christian
Council. According to other CCC officials, both of Gao's
parents also were Christian. Gao and his wife have one
daughter. End Bio Note.
CAMP