World Council of Churches leader visits China, Taiwan

A UMNS Report By Linda Bloom*

In a recent visit to China, the chief executive of the World Council of Churches praised the work of Christians there and discussed the role of religion in building a "harmonious society" with government officials.

"If China wants to be the kind of global player that it is clearly becoming, then there are norms and standards (in terms of religious freedom) which will be expected of its government, and I think they are aware of this," said the Rev. Samuel Kobia, a Methodist from Kenya, during a press conference in China.

The Nov. 15-22 visit, Kobia's first in his role as WCC leader, included stops in Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing and Xi'an. Kobia and his delegation then traveled to Taiwan for a Nov. 23-26 visit at the invitation of the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan, a WCC member.

The Rev. Larry Pickens, chief executive of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, called the visit of the WCC delegation to China and Taiwan "very significant."

"It is hard to determine the number of Christians living in China, but it is clear that Christianity is a growing faith and continues to experience tension within what is still a totalitarian regime," Pickens added. "The World Council of Churches can play a vital role in regulating this tension by providing its ongoing witness and voice of justice in the region."

Post-denominational church
Diane Allen, who directs the United Methodist China Program for the denomination's Board of Global Ministries, said the Protestant churches in China have been guided by a "three-self" policy - emphasizing self-support, self-government and self-evangelization - for nearly six decades.

"The China Christian Council has always been keen to point out that, as Christians in China find their own way forward in theology, works, worship, language-that is, living out the Christian faith as they experience it-'self-isolation' is not, and never was, a criteria for church and spiritual development," she told United Methodist News Service.

Kobia's visit, along with visits from other Christian groups worldwide, reinforces the model "of equality, mutuality, partnership and equal exchange," Allen added.

During a dinner hosted by the Christian China Council and Three-Self Patriotic Movement in their new headquarters at the historic "Red Brick" Holy Trinity Church on Shanghai's Jinjiang Road, Kobia noted that the Chinese church represents "something unique" to the ecumenical movement. "As a post-denominational church, you are in a class of your own, and we want to learn more from you," he said.

"Though the Chinese culture is renowned for its ancient history, now when we think about Chinese Christians, we think about the future, because more and more Christians are realizing that if we are to live the prayer of Jesus Christ that all should be one, then we need to be post-denominational in character," Kobia said.

Meeting with leaders
Some 16 million Chinese today are members of congregations related to the Christian China Council, compared to 700,000 Christians living in China in 1949. The council has 18 seminaries and Bible schools and about 2,700 ordained pastors and associate pastors.

Kobia met with Bishop K.H. Ting at his residence in Nanjing and saluted his contributions to Christianity in China, to the WCC and to the ecumenical movement as a whole. Ting is the Christian China Council's honorary president and honorary chairman of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement.

Ting and other Christian leaders started the Amity Foundation in 1985, which continues to work in the areas of education, rural development, health care, social welfare and gender development. The Amity Printing Press, a joint venture with United Bible Societies, has printed 42 million Bibles in Chinese since 1986.

"We believe in what you do," Kobia said in response to a briefing in Nanjing on the foundation's work. "You have been a very effective instrument in helping churches in China see that what is preached is translated into the real lives of people."

When he met with Ye Xiaowen, China's minister of religious affairs, Kobia asked how many Christians and believers of other faiths lived in China, pointing to the difficulty of obtaining accurate statistics. Ye told the WCC delegation that the government would conduct a census of religious believers, according to international standards, in the near future.

Kobia also met in Beijing with leaders representing the Islam, Catholic, Taoist and Buddhist faiths.

Encouraging cooperation
During a Nov. 21 press conference, Kobia said he was impressed with the growth of Christian communities in China and noted that "it is in the best interests of the government to actually expand the space for the practice of religion." He encouraged the government to ensure wider participation of religious people in its vision of a "harmonious society."

Allen pointed out that Chinese leaders "are aware of a general lack of ideological underpinning and social morality" to the focus on economic growth during the last 30 years. "The government has realized that some basic religious tenets, also inherent in Christianity, are some they'd like to encourage amongst its entire people - honesty, integrity, a respect for elders, volunteer work, charitable giving.

"The welcoming of the Rev. Kobia by high-ranking leaders in the Chinese government is a definite signal that China is serious about encouraging religious cooperation within its national goals," Allen said.

Kobia's visit occurred during "exciting times" for Christians in China. "There is will, energy, ability, and availability for all kinds of life-affirming involvement within Chinese society," she explained.

A signal to Taiwan
In Taiwan, Kobia and his delegation met with faculty and students at Taiwan Theological College and Seminary, visited urban and rural ministries for indigenous peoples, stopped by the Presbyterian General Assembly office, and were guests at a reception attended by various Protestant leaders.

Kobia's arrival was "a signal to people in Taiwan that the World Council of Churches stands with them," according to Pickens, who visited the ecumenical leadership of the Presbyterian Church there earlier this year. "This is an important message because Christians and other people of faith oftentimes feel abandoned by the international community."

Other members of the WCC delegation included the Rev. Tyrone Pitts, chief executive, Progressive National Baptist Convention, USA; the Rev. Seong-Won Park, Presbyterian Church of Korea, South Korea; the Rev. Gabriel Papanicolaou, ecumenical officer, Church of Greece; and the Rev. Mathews George Chunakara, WCC Asia secretary.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York. The World Council of Churches contributed to this report.