Interviews with Xiqiu "Bob" Fu

Yes. Those international NGOs who are able to get into China, of course they have to be facing enormous pressure to work within the system, within the government parameters. But I think they can still work in a principled way by at least outreaching to the other civil society organizations like the house church movement.

I mean it’s not a formal NGO, but it’s recognized by many sociologists as the largest NGO in China. You know, with 50 to 60 million members. And share the same faith standing with the same principles. And seeking for fundamental freedom of religion in China. And at least in the work places, for those NGOs, they should protect their basic religious freedom.

And when those house church members are hired in these work places – no matter in the development program or the environmental protection program or HIV/AIDS program. If those members are house church members working within these organizations, and if they are pressured by the Chinese government – or in some cases if they are persecuted by the Chinese government – these international NGOs should stand up for the employees.

At least to tell the Chinese government that they, the NGOs, respect the freedom of worship. And to persecute their employee based on their faith is not a welcoming thing. I think these kinds of actions can make a difference. And I honestly do not think enough actions have been taken by these international NGOs inside China. And often, when they are facing pressure by the Chinese government agencies in regard to their employees, they often give in too much. Some even fire or pressure their employees to resign for simply that reason.

In terms of the cooperation or the impact of the engagement of the international religious organizations, I would say, yes, some organizations are actively promoting religious freedom in China by working and learning from these persecuted faithful. And for instance, the Southern Baptist Convention, they have their [Ethics and] Religious Liberty Commission. They have been actively advocating for the religious freedom in China and other countries.

And other organizations who chose to work with the government-sanctioned church, and which I understand there are some dynamic of interest to work with the government-sanctioned churches. But I hope by choosing to work with the government-sanctioned church, or with the Chinese government, they would not turn a blind eye to the persecuted, who are the majority. And regrettably some chose to really not only work with the Chinese government and the government-sanctioned churches, but also to speak with the same voice with the Chinese government propaganda.

Unfortunately those international organizations and even evangelical organizations chose to not only work with the Chinese government and its affiliated religious institutions, but also speak up with the same propaganda voice in the international arena. So in essence, they became accomplice with the persecutors. I think that’s an unfortunate development.

Bob Fu was a leader in the student democracy movement at Tiananmen Square in 1989. He later converted to Christianity and became a house church pastor and a founder, along with his wife Heidi, of a Bible school. In 1996, he was arrested and jailed for running a secret bible school. After his release, he and his wife escaped to Hong Kong. They were admitted to the United States as refugees a few days before the handover of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China in 1997.

Fu founded the China Aid Association (CAA) in 2002. CAA monitors and reports on religious freedom in China, particularly focusing on the fate of believers who belong to banned or unofficial house churches, which encompass 60 to 80 million followers. CAA issues frequent news releases on cases of religious persecution involving Protestant house church congregations and assists victims to assert their right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religious practice in China.

CAA also provides a forum for discussion and information exchange among experts on religion, law, and human rights in China through its bilingual journal, the China Law & Religion Monitor, and a bilingual website. Its headquarters are in Midland, Texas, where Fu now lives and works.

The People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, after a decades-long civil war between communist and nationalist forces. The communist victory drove the nationalist government to the island of Taiwan. While tensions have eased in recent years, both the nationalist and communist forces still claim to rule all of China. China ranks as the world’s third largest country by area, and the largest by population, with over 1.3 billion people.

Since 1949, China has been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party. Revolutionary leader Mao Zedong led the country until his death in 1976. Mao’s era was marked by dramatic swings in policy, massive crackdowns on perceived opponents of the regime, and harsh repression. Since 1976, the Chinese government has broken with Marxist economic orthodoxy by instituting limited market-based reforms, but the party has retained its monopoly on political power.

Freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and religion are severely restricted, and the people of China are denied the right to change their government. The courts are controlled by the Communist Party and do not provide due process of law. Government control extends into every aspect of people’s lives, most notably in the one-child policy in which unauthorized pregnancies often result in forced abortion and sterilization. While technology has spread quickly in recent years, Freedom House ranks China as one of the three most repressive governments in the world in terms of Internet freedom.

While the rapid expansion of the private sector has dramatically changed the Chinese economy, fundamental principles of free market systems are lacking, including property rights and independent labor unions. Official corruption remains a major obstacle to developing a fully free economy.

In 1989, 100,000 people gathered in a peaceful demonstration in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to protest human rights violations and demand democratic reforms. The protest lasted several weeks and inspired similar nonviolent demonstrations in other cities throughout China. On June 4, 1989, the People’s Liberation Army converged on the area with troops, tanks, and other advanced military weapons. Estimates of the death toll ranged from several hundred to several thousand. The army used similar tactics to suppress demonstrations in other cities and subsequently rounded up and imprisoned many thousands of protestors. The government vigorously defended these actions and instituted a campaign to purge those who had sympathized with protestors from the party and the government.

Although the Tiananmen Square massacre put an end to hopes for a speedy transition to democracy, courageous Chinese citizens have continued to risk imprisonment and worse to demand freedom. These human rights activists have included students, workers, lawyers, artists, and writers; Tibetan Buddhists and Uyghur Muslims who demand respect for their cultures, traditions, and religious practices; members of the spiritual discipline known as Falun Gong; Catholics who insist that their church is headed by the Pope rather than by government-appointed religious officials; and members of the “house church” movement, representing millions of Protestant Christians who are forced to worship in secret because their churches are not authorized by the government. China’s many prisoners of conscience include members of each of these groups.

In 2010, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to imprisoned Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo. His wife was arrested in order to prevent her from attending the award ceremony, and the government employed a range of coercive techniques to prevent other human rights activists from attending. China’s leading human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, disappeared in early 2009 and is presumed to be in government custody.

The most recent Freedom in the World report from Freedom House gave China scores of 6 for civil liberties and 7 for political rights, where 1 is the highest and 7 the lowest possible score. Freedom House categorizes China as a “Not Free” country.