The Sinophile

As an analyst of current trends in China, I am fascinated by the social transition we are seeing in China today. There are at least two prominent characteristics to this transition: First, the increase in social conflicts, which we can see in the increase in rural uprisings and the increase in the school stabbing cases. Secondly, the rise in the perceived interest among the Chinese people in civil rights.

These social conflicts have stemmed from the many problems in China of maintaining social stability. A primary factor is the poor mechanisms in place in maintaining this stability. The government is more interested in maintaining stability through the use of rigid mechanisms which actually go against the development of social stability. As the Chinese government is able to develop the rule of law, relax their rigid policies, and allow citizen activists more of a role in maintaining that rule of law, we will continue to see improvement in social stability. Of particular interest are the repeated stories we’re seeing of rights lawyers and rights activists that are being shut down or silenced. As I’ve written before in chronicling the stories of Xu Zhiyong and others, the Chinese government is going in a different direction in relation to these rights lawyers than it seems they were going in the past.

What is most troubling about the cases of these rights lawyers is the Chinese government’s squelching them at a time in which their services are most needed. For as we all know, it is when a government provides citizens with legitimate and reasonable outlets to express their concerns and demands, they will not be as likely to seek outside channels (riots, stabbings, etc) to challenge social stability. In addition, we were hearing some really fantastic first-hand stories of how these lawyers were helping people understand their rights under current Chinese law and expressing those rights to those to may attempt to undermine the rule of law.

To me, the brightest hope that we have today in these areas is the growth of the Christian church in China and the force for good that they are becoming in that country. This growth has been so pervasive that Christianity is reaching into almost all areas of society. Stories I’m hearing from Chinese about government leaders, military leaders, academicians, business leaders, all coming to know Christ have been so heart warming. Let me assure those of you who are new to China ministry that all the stories you are hearing about what God is doing in China are all true. What is equally encouraging is even those who are not yet coming to Christ, millions of Chinese now see Christianity not as a foreign religion to be feared, but as a legitimate worldview that offers real solutions to life’s problems. I’m not the only one who now believes that it is quite probable that a full 10% of China population are Christians or have taken a Christian worldview to their lives and are applying it daily. Many more are examining the claims of Christ. Take this one story, taken from Larry Tauton’s blog, who is the Executive Director of Fixed Point Foundation, as he recalls a conversation while in China he was having recently with a Chinese Christian, Ms. Jung:

Only the week before Ms. Jung had been meeting with seven government officials—all communists, mind you—in a province western China. It was, she said, a very unusual meeting. One of them, a woman, asked her directly if she was a Christian. Nervous, she acknowledged that she was.
“I am, too,” came the matter-of-fact reply. Her boss raised his eyebrows in surprise. But that was not all.
“I am considering becoming one,” said another official, also a woman. “But I don’t understand miracles.” Ms. Jung said that she did her best to help her get over this obstacle to faith. After some discussion, this woman declared that she wanted to become a Christian.
Once again, the boss looked stunned. “I am going to have to fire the two of you!” He said with what Ms. Jung took to be mock anger. “He had to say that,” she explained to me. “He has to appear disapproving, even if he doesn’t really plan to fire them.”
But that was not the end of the story.
“This man,” Ms. Jung said almost laughing, “then looked at another man sitting at the end of the table—someone who worked for him—and added, ‘But if I fire [the two women], I suppose I would have to fire him, too.’ The man at the end of the table said nothing, he just grinned!” Wow. Of seven government officials in this particular meeting, three were Christians.

As we know, it is Christ who offers real internal peace and real solutions to social stability. It is our hope at China Resource Center, as we engage with China and Chinese government officials, to offer that hope and that peace as the ultimate social stabilizer. If this pricks your heart at all, please let me know in the comments below or send me an email. I’d like to know and offer to you ways you can help us as we impact China for Christ.

In my work with the China Resource Center, people will often ask me whether China will someday have a political system that resembles a Western-style Democracy. This is a great question and is one that is often related to Westerners ability to work openly in China. In other words, often when people are asking me this question, there’s a caveat to the question, if you will. Their thought process is often something like, “Once China has a completely democratic society, we’ll be able to do more ministry in China.”

In my mind, there is a lot to unpack in order to adequately answer their question. The motive behind their question is actually what strikes me first. It is my opinion that many Western Christians tie together the idea of greater political freedoms in China with more ministry opportunity. I believe that is true to an extent, but would not completely tie the two together. More on this side of the question later.

For now, let’s take a brief look at whether Western-style democracy is in China’s future. The short answer to this question is that I do not see a multi-party democracy in China’s future throughout the course of my life. But don’t despair too much because China is headed toward continued political freedom, just not in the way that you may want them to go. Of course for all of us, we like things that are familiar and having China move in a direction that would mirror our own political situation. But as is the case with much dealing with China, the Chinese approach a particular situation in its own Chinese way.

For those of you who really want to know more about the rise of democratic principles in China, may I highly recommend an article by John Thorton, who does an excellent job of covering the issue from all angles. This article, while quite long, gives an excellent look at the situation from several angels. In terms of democracy in China, although the top leaders at the national level see an increasing role for elections, particularly at the local level, they are quite firm that a more ‘deliberative’ form of politics that allows each citizen and group to add their views to the decision-making process is better suited to the Chinese situation than open, multiparty elections for national power. They often talk about meritocracy, which fits the long-held Chinese system of examinations to test a candidate’s ability and competence for office. There is also a school of Chinese government think-tank scholars that favor more of a social democracy for China’s future. A major reason that many intellectuals and government leaders in China may be drawn towards a social democratic model is that social democrats aim to reform capitalism democratically through state regulation. They also favor the creation of state-sponsored programs and organizations, which work to improve or remove injustices purportedly inflicted by the capitalist market system. Social democracy normally has an extensive system of social security (which is already in place in China) and a government system that regulates private enterprise in the interest of workers, consumers and fair competition.

Given the unique nature of what is taking place in China within these different debates, the current power structure and those that are in power in the Chinese government and the long history that serves as a context for the debates, I cannot see a situation where we’d see a multi-party democracy any time within my lifetime. So what does this mean for those of us interested in impacting China for Christ? In next weeks blog post, I’ll give you a deeper examination and answers to that question. In brief, I think we must first accept the fact that democracy is not coming to China any time soon and fit our organizational goals accordingly. Just because the form of government in China is different than our own does not mean that effective and meaningful ministry cannot take place.

I am sitting here reading an WSJ article about the trial of a judge, a judicial chief in Chongqing who is convicted of taking massive bribes over many years in order to keep organized crime in Chongqing safe from the law. In the understatement of the year, the article states, “The problem of judicial corruption threatens to undermine public confidence in the legal system just as China pushes to further develop the rule of law.” Clearly, the judicial system in China is full of corruption and incompetence. Many judges assume their jobs directly out of college, without the experience that comes from working at lower level positions first. Adding to the situation is that Chinese courts are still controlled by the Communist Party, and their ability to make independent decisions is limited.

As I sit here at my desk reading this article, the thought popped into my head that this task of developing rule of law in China is a MASSIVE task, with so many obstacles in the way. It’s like finding a pebble in a deep ocean….. I want to be a part of the solution, but it seems at times to be an insurmountable problem. To see real rule of law in China, you have to deal not only with the corruption, but also the education of public officials on what the law actually says, plus the task of reforming the thought process of government officials to allow the law to stand on it’s own….. Wow!

In future blog posts, I hope to offer my view of solutions. But today, it feels like I’m swimming in a wide and deep ocean, unsure of how to get to solid ground.