An Evening with Guangzhou's Bishop Gan: Whither Religious

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUANGZHOU 000061 E.O. 12958: DECL: X-1 Human TAGS: KIRF PHUM SOCI GOV CH SUBJECT: An Evening with Guangzhou's Bishop Gan: Whither Religious Freedom, Whither China's Leaders (U) Classified by Consul General Robert Goldberg for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. A wry, at times bemused, Bishop Joseph Gan (Gan Junqiu) told the U.S. and French Consuls General over dinner February 3 that he did not see any possibility for China-Vatican relations over the next 4-5 years. The issue, the Bishop said, was not whether the Vatican "de-recognized" Taiwan or whether it allowed China to select and ordain bishops without the Vatican's designation and approval; it was simply a question of freedom of religion. As long as the Chinese government viewed non-state- controlled religions as an alternative power base, the Vatican would have no choice but to forego far-reaching rapprochement and instead to seek incremental improvements in the lot of people of faith. The conversation with the Bishop ranged widely over the Pope's 2007 letter to the Chinese people, a recent Bishop's meeting in Beijing, the current state of official-underground Catholic relations, the growth in the number of churches, political change in Guangdong, and the legacy of Chinese leaders from Chiang Kai-shek to Hu Jintao. End summary. It's All About Freedom of Religion -------------- ¶2. (C) Over a leisurely dinner - and well aware that the Chinese authorities likely were not pleased that he was once again meeting with the U.S. and French Consuls General - Bishop Joseph Gan started the conversation off by addressing what he thought would be of most interest to the two CGs: the future of Sino-Vatican relations. On that issue, the Bishop was "not optimistic." The issues of Taiwan-Vatican relations and the recognition and ordination of Bishops were relatively easy ones to work out: in fact, both could be resolved in a day (a bit of an understatement, he subsequently observed). But religious freedom was a far more contentious, indeed potentially irreconcilable matter. Simply put, the Church was a potential center of authority for challenging the overall supremacy of the Party. The Bishop noted that he had always been very clear in his support of the Party; in fact that was one of the things that made it easy for the Chinese to recognize him as Bishop of Guangzhou after the Vatican had designated him (though the ordination ceremony was held up for a period of time). However, the ruling authorities either failed to understand the distinction between Caesar and God ;(which had been spelled out in the Pope's 2007 letter to the Chinese people) or they recognized that faith, even if it were personal and non-political, would inevitably lead people to question the wisdom of Party decisions which seemed based on the good of the Party rather than the good of the people. ¶3. (C) Turning to the Pope's letter, the Bishop said that clearly there were contradictions and certain things in it that would not be acceptable to the government, particularly on issues of apostolic succession. But if read carefully, there was room for discussion. It was a good "faith" effort by the Pope to start a dialogue, not to dictate the outcome of a discussion. The Chinese government had not yet responded to the letter and the Bishop doubted that any formal response would be forthcoming. But the letter did have the effect of giving underground Catholic churches a mandate to work with the authorities (which the Bishop doubted they would do since the government would want to close them down) and allowed underground Catholic believers to attend the official Catholic church and receive communion and partake of fellowship there. As for the underground Church-official Church relationship, Bishop Gan noted that the links had been strong and continuous over the past two decades. He himself had been very close to priests in the underground Church in Wuhan when he was new to the ministry and underground Church leaders felt free to call on him when in need. His current assistant, Father John Peng (Peng Zengqin),who recently returned about three years of seminary training in Manila, helps Bishop Gan coordinate informal meetings with the underground church as well as weekly meetings with foreign priests. The December Meeting in Beijing -------------- ¶4. (C) The convocation of Chinese bishops in Beijing in December had been hastily called by the State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA),according to the Bishop. He was already in Beijing on business and was set to leave the following day when a SARA official turned up to inform him of the meeting and to hand him a new plane ticket. And, oh by the way, the official said, please wear your bishop's robes to the meeting. Bishop Gan demurred, noting that his formal clothing was in Guangzhou and he would simply come in his clerical collar. "What," he asked rhetorically, "do they think we are? Clowns in a circus?" As for the meeting itself, it was memorable only for the lecturing and at times hectoring tone taken by the officials and for the decision of the part of most (but not all) of the Bishops to return and continue their ministries without reference to the warnings and importunings. Bishop Gan noted that he had discussed the Beijing meeting only with a few of his trusted advisors (not all 70 of the priests in Guangzhou who serve 380 plus parishes) as he didn't want many of them to feel obligated to report on him for his somewhat wayward attitude. (Note: the Bishop said that he knew that there were a couple of people who worked in his Guangzhou office who reported to the local SARA on church activities and he didn't mind that, except when it got into matters of faith. End note.) The Protestant Church Has It Harder Than We Do/ Buddhists Are Different From You and Me -------------- ¶5. (C) Tough as it is at times for the Catholic Church, official or underground, the Bishop said that it's double or triple that amount of aggravation for many of the Protestant churches. Many local authorities do not understand Protestant doctrine or certain aspects of evangelical fervor and missionary work; they also lack a single power center, like the Vatican, to which they can either appeal (privately) or blame (publicly). So he is not surprised by the occasional harsh treatment of Protestant ministers and their flock; in fact, the story here, he said, is that there are actually some local officials who seek to work with Christians on social issues (care for the aged, for example) that government is unable to address. ¶6. (C) The Bishop did not linger long on Buddhists or the Dalai Lama; he criticized, in fairly standard terms, the Dalai Lama's inability or unwillingness to address the concerns of the central government and said time was running out for him to be an effective agent of reconciliation. As for Serf Liberation Day, he understood it was a poke in the eye of many Tibetans, but noted somewhat disingenuously, that it was a political matter and what could he, as a religious leader, say about that. He noted that he didn't spend much time with Buddhist monks these days, adding with a smile that as a dedicated carnivore, it's difficult to break bread with them over a meal. And What About Political Leaders? -------------- ¶7. (C) The Bishop seemed particularly amused by the CGs' comments about politics in south China, especially the role being played by Party Secretary Wang Yang. Had he met Wang? Only to say hello, he said. Was he interested in meeting at length with Wang? Not really was the response. Wang's views on religion were likely to be like those of any other senior Chinese leader and whether Wang would make any difference in the economic well being of Guangdong remained to be seen. Wang's policies were designed to afford him a national role in the future; Guangdong, the Bishop said, was a platform from which to gain central government position. As for Huang Huahua, the Bishop added cryptically and without elaboration, at least the Governor was "honest" in everything he did. Note: We're not exactly sure what the Bishop meant by Huang's "honesty" other than to observe that allegations about whether Huang is honest are an occasional topic of internet conversations about political and economic culture in Guangdong. End note. ¶8. (C) Finally, what positive legacy do politicians in China leave behind? According to the Bishop, there is a saying in China today that sums up the legacies of leaders from Chiang Kaishek to Jiang Zemin: Chiang's legacy was Taiwan independence, Mao Zedong's was Tibetan independence, Deng's was June 4th and Jiang Zemin's was Falungong. Surely Hu Jintao should be able to improve on that. But one thing Hu Jintao and his successors could not do or would not do is to rewrite and reevaluate those legacies. Too many people, currently embedded in government at senior levels, have a vested interest in not revisiting the past lest their own emergence as power brokers come to be questioned as a result of the policies they have upheld. Accountability, the Bishop said at the end of the meal, was not coming in this world. One Last Story -------------- ¶9. (C) The Bishop could not resist one last story on his way out the door and that related to the renovation of the Catholic Church on Shamian Island near the consulate. A group of Consuls Generals in 2001 had organized a trip around Guangzhou to visit leaders of the five major religions. At the Catholic Church, they came upon a building of great beauty but in need of considerable repair and asked the priest whether he would be interested in receiving money raised from abroad. Bishop Gan says he was there and told us that the priest said he would; the CGs supposedly were about to set a fund-raising effort in motion. A few days after the visit to the Church, the Canadian CG paid a farewell call on the Mayor of Guangzhou and told him about the role that the Consuls General hoped to play on behalf of the Church. Within two-three weeks, the Catholic priest had been offered nearly unlimited assistance from the Guangzhou government for renovation and repairs; he could keep whatever money was not spent. It was also suggested that perhaps he didn't need assistance from abroad after all. Noting that the U.S. Consul General was leaving in the next half year, the Bishop said that perhaps the CG would like to visit the Catholic Church on Yide Road and report its condition to Mayor Zhang Guangning at the time of his departure. That was as good an invitation to be of assistance if we ever heard one. GOLDBERG