WATERLOO REGION
Flaring tempers and passionate protests were dogging the Chinese government long before fireworks exploded over Beijing during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games last week
Tibetans, led by Buddhist monks, have long been rallying for freedom from China.
Falun Gong practitioners, labelled an evil cult by the Chinese government which imposed a clampdown on the spiritual group a decade ago, have been persistently accusing Chinese leaders of imprisoning, torturing and murdering their fellow practitioners.
And U.S. President George W. Bush also ruffled diplomatic feathers last week when he called for greater religious freedom in China.
At the same time, however, petitions by Christian groups seeking religious freedom have largely flown under the news media's radar -- in part because their appeals have usually been less public.
In Waterloo Region, two Chinese congregations whose message from the pulpit is delivered in Mandarin and Cantonese are regularly praying for people in China.
But they don't plan to stage vigils or other public demonstrations while the world's eyes are focused on Beijing.
Not that the Olympics are going unnoticed at the two churches.
During his sermon at the Guelph-Cambridge Chinese Alliance Church in Cambridge last Sunday, Pastor Vincent Lai brought up the name of China's star basketball player -- seven-foot six-inch Yao Ming, who also plays for the NBA's Houston Rockets.
That name grabbed the attention of the worshippers, Lai said in an interview on Monday.
Lai said he told the congregation that the game of basketball has many rules.
And the same goes for life and for the Christian religion, he said.
Just as Yao must follow rules in order to score points on the basketball court, Christians must follow God's rules in order to be rewarded with blessings, he explained.
But in his sermon, Lai also commented on the darker side of these Olympics.
Lai said he lauded the accomplishments of the organizers for creating magnificent buildings in time for the games -- but noted they largely achieved this because China is administered by an authoritarian regime.
"The Chinese government can reach their goals much easier than other countries," he said.
"(But) our God does not force people to do something."
Lai said few people in his 60-member congregation were Christians when they lived in China. Most became Christians after arriving in Canada.
Communist Party members in China are not allowed to be church members.
But religious freedom for Christians in China has improved during the past 15 years, Lai said.
Before, people were afraid to proclaim the Gospel in public, he said. And non-party members were uneasy about going to church.
"Now is better," he said.
And although Chinese authorities asked foreigners coming to the Olympics to bring with them only one Bible, millions of Bibles in Chinese language are being printed at a government-approved printing plant in China, Lai noted.
In Waterloo, worshippers at the Kitchener-Waterloo Chinese Alliance Church also have their eyes on the Olympics.
Members often pray for people in China, Rev. Alex Yeung said in an interview.
But they're also not planning any special vigils or sermons during the Olympics.
Yeung, who immigrated from Hong Kong to Canada four decades ago, said he's reluctant to be too critical of the Chinese government's actions toward Christians in China.
There are millions of Christians in China, he noted.
"We need to be sensitive to their situation and their needs," he said. "We don't want to create any inconvenience for them by what we say outside of China."
Prayer, not public protest, is the best way to make positive changes in China, he said.
Like many Christians today, Yeung asks the question: What would Jesus do?
Flipping through his Bible, columns of English text printed alongside rows of Scripture in Chinese characters, Yeung stops at the Gospel of Matthew 12:19.
"He will not argue or shout, or make loud speeches in the streets," the Scripture says of the Messiah.
Yeung concedes that Jesus chased money-changers out of the Temple.
But he did it alone, Yeung said.
"He didn't bring an army."
Yeung said critics outside of China must try to understand China's history, its culture and the political situation.
"We (in the West) are operating in a different system."
Yeung said Chinese culture can be summed up in one word -- stability.
China is a large country with more than one billion people and hundreds of different groups, he noted.
And any group that threatens the stability of the country -- whether the group is religious or not -- is going to run afoul of the government, he said.
So, Yeung said, it's important that Christians not appear to be a threat to the government.
China demands that churches in China be independent. For example, to be in good standing with the Chinese government, Roman Catholic clergy cannot be under the authority of the Pope.
Churches must also be registered with the government. One result of this, according to human rights groups, is that unregistered assemblies, such as Protestant gatherings known as house churches, are frequently targeted by police.
But Yeung said he has heard stories told by recent immigrants from China who say that religious freedom for Christians in their homeland is improving.
House churches are active.
"They're flourishing even though they are not registered," Yeung said.
According to the U.S. Department of State's 2007 report on religious freedom, there are numerous reports of police raiding house church meetings, beating members and sentencing the leaders to long prison terms.
Still, Yeung doesn't want to pass judgment.
"We don't know what's actually going on -- what triggered the incident," he said.
Yeung says he sees Jesus working in China.
Evangelism has waxed and waned in China, from as far back as the seventh century.
So despite the atheism encouraged by the Communist government, everyone in China knows the story of Jesus' birth at Christmas, Yeung said.
"That's why I say prayer is the most effective way."
And rather than demonstrating in the streets, Yeung said, he believes diplomacy is the best, most non-threatening way to improve conditions for religious people in China.
"The process might be long," he said. "But Rome wasn't built in one day anyway."
mpetricevic@therecord.com
WEBSITES:
Kitchener-Waterloo Chinese Alliance Church: www.kwcac.ca
U.S. Department of State International Religious Freedom Report 2007: www.state.gov/g/drl/irf Amnesty International: www.amnesty.org/en/china-olympics (look for the report China: The Olympics Countdown)