Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09SHANGHAI462
2009-11-24 07:34:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Shanghai
Cable title:  

SHANGHAI HOUSE CHURCH CLOSED, PASTOR TEMPORARILY DETAINED

Tags:  PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6707
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGH #0462/01 3280734
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 240734Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8384
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3165
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2283
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0740
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2450
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 2274
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 2073
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0092
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0604
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0815
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0140
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 9046
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SHANGHAI 000462 

SIPDIS

STATE ALSO FOR DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2034
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF CH
SUBJECT: SHANGHAI HOUSE CHURCH CLOSED, PASTOR TEMPORARILY DETAINED

REF: A. (A) BEIJING 3124

B. (B) BEIJING 3073

C. (C) 08 SHANGHAI 408 AND PREVIOUS

CLASSIFIED BY: BEATRICE CAMP, CONSUL GENERAL, US CONSULATE
SHANGHAI, DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



Summary

-------



C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SHANGHAI 000462

SIPDIS

STATE ALSO FOR DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2034
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF CH
SUBJECT: SHANGHAI HOUSE CHURCH CLOSED, PASTOR TEMPORARILY DETAINED

REF: A. (A) BEIJING 3124

B. (B) BEIJING 3073

C. (C) 08 SHANGHAI 408 AND PREVIOUS

CLASSIFIED BY: BEATRICE CAMP, CONSUL GENERAL, US CONSULATE
SHANGHAI, DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



Summary

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




1. (C) Local authorities closed a Shanghai house church and
detained the pastor earlier this month, a move that coincided
with the closure of a popular house church in Beijing (Refs A
and B). Consulate contacts expressed concern that U.S.
Government pressure on the Shanghai Municipal Government to
loosen restrictions on house churches ultimately could have the
opposite effect. End Summary.



Local House Church Closed to Worshippers

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




2. (C) Authorities in Shanghai's Minhang District closed the
popular Wanbang Church in early November, reportedly locking the
doors of the "house church" on November 12. The move reportedly
followed a decision by the church's leadership to rent or buy a
new commercial worship space for its rapidly growing
congregation. Shanghai Municipal Religious Affairs Bureau
official Wang Xinhua told PolOff the church was closed because
"its operation was not approved by the local authorities and was
therefore illegal." Wang said Wanbang Church members should
respect the local government's decision and instead worship at
an official Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) church.




3. (C) In the two weeks since the closure, authorities detained
Wanbang pastor Cui Quan for short periods on several occasions
and took away his mobile phone. According to Li Feng, a
professor at East China University of Political Science and Law
who is connected to several house churches, the police also
confiscated documents from Wanbang Church. Police prevented the
unregistered house church from holding an outdoor service,
detaining six church leaders (including Cui) over the November
21-22 weekend.



Linked to Events in Beijing?

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




4. (C) Wanbang's difficulties in Shanghai coincided with a

high-profile house church closure in Beijing during November
(Refs A and B). Liu Ping, a professor at Fudan University and a
member of the Xiaoyuan House Church, said on November 23 that
while the Wanbang Church in Shanghai and the Shouwang Church in
Beijing are not connected, the local authorities' "identical
reactions" to the two congregations must have been "directed
from the top." Liu believes top leaders in the Central
Government remain suspicious of Christian congregations as a
possible threat to the government. Li Feng at East China
University of Political Science and Law reiterated the commonly
held view that Chinese government officials are not suspicious
of "individual religious practice" but rather of organized,
public gatherings that are outside the state's control.




SHANGHAI 00000462 002 OF 003



5. (C) Liu claimed the environment for house churches in China
has grown steadily worse in the past year following an October
2008 symposium on religion in Beijing. During the "Beijing
Summit on Chinese Spirituality and Society" at Beijing
University, two notable China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)
scholars -- Liu Peng from the CASS American Studies Institute
and Yu Jianrong from the Center for the Study of Social Problems
at the CASS Institute of Rural Development -- both advocated for
"making house churches legal and public." According to Fudan
University's Liu Ping, from Shanghai's perspective, house
churches appear to have faced greater scrutiny and pressure in
the year since the conference.



Growing Pains: More Members, More Problems

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




6. (C) House churches in Shanghai face difficulties when they
outgrow their meeting spaces and need to move to new locations.
Government officials feel threatened by a congregation of 500
people, Liu Ping said. (Note: Press reports estimate the size
of the Wanbang Church congregation at 1,000 but Consulate
contacts said the figure was 500-600. End Note.) Wanbang is
the second Shanghai house church in a year to be closed down,
Liu said. Jindengtai Church was closed in 2008 when it also
grew "too big." Li Feng agreed, stating that the large scale of
the Wanbang Church was "too public" for the government despite
being far from the city center. "House churches are OK," Li
said. "But public worship in large numbers at an unrecognized
church is not."




7. (C) As a result, many Shanghai house churches are
intentionally choosing to stay small or worship in small groups.
For example, Xiaoyuan House Church, a large congregation
comprised primarily of Fudan University students and faculty,
hopes to avoid problems by acting "according to the law" and
meeting in several different homes in small groups rather than
seeking to buy or rent a large space to meet as one
congregation, Liu Ping stated. Government officials are
especially nervous about house church growth in university
districts or wealthier areas, he added. Shanghai house church
leaders should "avoid politicizing" the role of house churches,
lest they give the municipal government a reason to crack down
further, Liu said. In this case, Tongji University professor
Zhu Dake believes Wanbang Church was closed because church
members are "poor farmers who can't fight back" and the closure
would "send a message" to other house churches in wealthier
parts of the city.



Next Steps for Wanbang's Congregation

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




8. (C) The South China Morning Post reported on November 23 that
Wanbang church members were able to worship informally at a
local park on November 22 despite the detention of pastor Cui
and other leaders. However, the church's future remains
unclear. Li Feng said the church would like to be formally
recognized by the local government and has applied officially
for recognition, but there is "no chance" Wanbang would be
granted official status because "if one church is granted
permission, then that will lead to many requests for
recognition." Li said he does not believe Wanbang's leaders
have political motives, adding that the church is not seeking a
conflict with the local government over recognition.



The U.S. Government's Role?


SHANGHAI 00000462 003 OF 003


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




9. (C) Li continued that the U.S. and Chinese approaches to
organized religion remain "very different." In the United
States, there is no concept of "managing religion," he noted.
U.S. Government attention to house churches in Shanghai only
serves to confirm Chinese government suspicion about the
political nature of their activities, Li said. Liu Ping
likewise predicted that U.S. Government pressure on the Shanghai
Municipal Government to loosen restrictions on house churches
ultimately could have the opposite effect. "If you (the United
States) apply pressure, then the Chinese government could make
it worse for house churches," Liu said. "It is a difficult
situation."
CAMP