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INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0903
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0508
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0491
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0614
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0516
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 0416
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 6002

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 SHANGHAI 000166 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM, AND DRL/IRF 
NSC FOR WILDER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  3/26/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PINR KIRF CH
SUBJECT: SHANGHAI RELIGIOUS CONTACTS DISCUSS NGOS, THEOLOGICAL 
TRAINING, AND REGISTRATION ISSUES 
 
REF: A) 2005 SHANGHAI 4524 B) 2006 BEIJING 15660 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Mary E. Tarnowka, Political/Economic Section 
Chief, Political/Economic Section  , U.S. Consulate Shanghai. 
 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  During her February 26-27 visit to Shanghai, 
DRL/IRF Officer Emilie Kao explored ways to expand religious 
freedom in China with academics, officials from the Communist 
Party-approved China Christian Council/Three Self Patriotic 
Movement (CCC/TSPM), Shanghai YMCA leaders, a representative of 
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) who 
was actively involved in the company's Christian activities, and 
American citizens working in Shanghai with unregistered 
religious groups.  Interlocutors believed religious groups could 
contribute to the building of "harmonious society" by providing 
social services for disadvantaged groups.  However, there were 
government sensitivities about the appropriate role of religious 
groups and faith-based NGOs.  There was a growing need for 
theological training for clergy and for religious education for 
lay volunteers who were taking on more responsibility for the 
running of CCC/TSPM churches.  According to Fudan University 
academics, although, in theory, the State Administration for 
Religious Affairs (SARA) allows underground churches to 
register, in practice the CCC/TSPM prevented the registration of 
underground churches.  As a result, few underground churches in 
East China bother to attempt to register.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) During her February 26-27 visit to Shanghai, DRL/IRF 
Officer Emilie Kao met with some of Fudan University's most 
prominent religious experts, such as Fudan University Center for 
American Studies Professor Edward Xu, Fudan University School 
for Social Development and Public Policy Fan Lizhu, Fudan 
University School of Social Development and Public Policy 
Professor Pan Tianshu, and East China University of Politics and 
Law Professor Li Feng.  Xu and Li were experts on the Protestant 
church in China, while Pan was an expert on faith-based 
charities.  Fan was an expert on folk religions in China.  Kao 
also visited the CCC/TSPM headquarters and met with Tian Feng 
Magazine (the official magazine of the CCC/TSPM) Chief Editor 
Mei Kangjun, Research Department Director Kan Baoping, 
Publication Department Director Xu Xiaohong, Training Department 
Director Bao Jainyuan and Social Service Department Staffer Xiao 
Yunxiao.  Kao met with YMCA General Secretary Wu Jianrong at the 
Shanghai YMCA Luoshan Community Center and SMIC CEO Richard 
Chang's Executive Assistant Beverly Liu at SMIC facilities to 
gain insight on how faith-based organizations operate in 
Shanghai.  Kao also met with leaders of the International Church 
(an expatriate protestant church in Shanghai), Director of the 
Shanghai Community Center (an expatriate association) Nathan 
Showalter and Kim Bennett, an Amcit who also has extensive 
contacts with underground churches in Shanghai and trains their 
pastors. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Faith-Based Charities Moving Cautiously 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  Kao's interlocutors believed that religious groups 
could play an important role in promoting a "harmonious society" 
by providing social services to disadvantaged groups.  The Fudan 
professors said that religious groups were becoming more active 
in providing social services.  According to Professor Xu, there 
were already 1,500 charities in China, the majority of which 
were faith-based charities.  These groups were fairly new in 
China and there was great government and academic interest in 
their role.  Fudan would host a conference on faith-based 
charities in June to highlight the work of these organizations 
in addressing social issues. 
 
¶4.  (C)  While the number of faith-based organizations was 
increasing, many of these organizations were moving cautiously 
because of government sensitivities.  As the official Protestant 
Church of China, the CCC/TSPM appeared to be the most cautious. 
Its social services office, established in 2003, oversaw 
charities and other social programs at churches.  CCC/TSPM 
representatives did not provide details on its programs, but 
noted that the CCC/TSPM was limited in what it could do. 
CCC/TSPM relied on the government for funding and did not 
receive funds from overseas.  Since it was a religious 
organization, it was prohibited from implementing programs at 
 
SHANGHAI 00000166  002 OF 004 
 
 
schools.  It also had to rely on volunteers to implement 
programs since its professional staff was limited.  In contrast, 
the Amity Foundation, an independent NGO that had ties to the 
CCC/TSPM, but was not considered a religious organization, had 
the freedom to implement programs at schools.  It also had a 
larger budget since it was able to receive money from overseas. 
Finally, Amity had the authority to hire experts to implement 
programs, and, therefore, could carry out more extensive 
programs. 
 
¶5.  (C) Some faith-based NGOs such as the YMCA have had to hide 
their religious ties in order to implement programs.  (See 
Reftel A for information on Shanghai YMCA's history and 
programs.)  There were no crosses or other religious 
paraphernalia on display at the Luoshan center and no religious 
texts at the center's library.  Wu said that it took the 
Shanghai YMCA a long time to obtain the people's trust and he 
worried that if the organization became more open about its 
Christian roots, it could lose the trust of the people. 
According to Wu, the most challenging aspect of his job was 
finding funding for YMCA programs.  The local government was 
reluctant to share scarce social and human resources with the 
YMCA.  In addition, the YMCA did not have a close relationship 
with the CCC/TSPM since the CCC/TSPM was focused on its own 
social services program.  The YMCA was also at a disadvantage 
because it was registered as a non-public Community Services 
Center rather than as a NGO or a member of the Shanghai 
Charities Federation.  Therefore, it had to pay the same taxes 
as for-profit corporations and could not offer donors any tax 
benefits. 
 
¶6.  (C) Wu added that the government continued to be suspicious 
of NGOs in general.  Promotion of the "harmonious society" 
concept should be beneficial to YMCA's activities in theory, 
but, in practice, the government was afraid of expanding the 
influence of the YMCA or other NGOs for fear of a "color 
revolution."  Wu concluded that it would take time for society 
to understand the role of NGOs. 
 
¶7.  (C) Most faith-based organizations focus their programs on 
mainstream disadvantaged groups such as the elderly and 
children.  There were few programs for more marginalized groups 
such as prostitutes, HIV/AIDs positive individuals, or 
intravenous drug users. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Better Theological Education Needed 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C)  Interlocutors noted the need for better theological 
education for members of both the Patriotic and underground 
churches.  According to CCC/TSPM's Bao, 16 million people 
attended TSPM churches at 55,000-60,000 officially sanctioned 
religious meeting places.  However, the TSPM had only 
4,800-5,000 Protestant pastors, most of whom were located in 
coastal areas.  Because of the lack of clergy, lay volunteers 
were taking on greater responsibility for the running of 
churches.  Lay persons could preach, but were not allowed to 
conduct baptisms or distribute Holy Communion.  Bao, who has 
headed the CCC/TSPM's training department since its 
establishment in 2003, said the CCC/TSPM was now focused on 
improving theological education of lay leaders as well as for 
clergy.  The CCC/TSPM supervised all religious training centers 
for clergy and lay people and provided the centers with Bibles 
and other theological texts.  The number of these centers was 
growing and there was practically a center in every district. 
Bao was also looking into using the Internet to provide further 
training.  Recently, the CCC/TSPM had published religious CDs, 
DVDs and tapes.  It was also interested in putting some texts 
into the MP3 format. 
 
¶9. (C) Fudan academics shared Bao's concerns about the quality 
of religious education in China.  Xu said that there were only 
17 Protestant divinity schools in all of China, and of these, 
only two were considered to be higher level education schools. 
According to Xu, national patriotic associations, like the TSPM, 
controlled theological education and set limits on the number of 
foreign teachers who could teach at the institutions.  While the 
Catholic Seminary in Sheshan could invite up to 10 foreigners 
per year, Protestant divinity schools, in particular the ones in 
Sichuan and Nanjing, could only invite one or two people per 
year.  The Sheshan Seminary was controlled by Shanghai Bishop 
Alyosious Jin Luxian, who used his significant influence to get 
 
SHANGHAI 00000166  003 OF 004 
 
 
permission to invite foreigners to teach at the seminary.  Xu 
implied that it was difficult for Protestant seminaries to 
provide quality education because of the lack of foreign 
teachers who have had more theological-based teaching 
experience.  According to the CCC/TSPM, a student must be 
nominated by a TSPM church in order to be admitted to one of the 
patriotic theological schools.  According to Xu, however, 
members of unregistered churches could and were studying at 
state-sanctioned divinity schools. 
 
¶10.  (C) Xu also disagreed that the CCC/TSPM was fully 
supervising the training centers for volunteers.  According to 
Xu, these centers were created and run by individual preachers. 
This was an example of the "gray" sector of religion.  In China, 
there were "gray, black, and red" areas.  Black represented 
illegal activity, while red activities were state sanctioned. 
Gray activities were those that were strictly not legal, but 
seemed to have the support of the government.  Religion was 
developing quickly in China and people involved in religion had 
to be creative in meeting the needs of their congregants. 
Training centers for lay people were a part of this trend and 
were growing in popularity.  (Comment: The fact that there were 
only three staff members in Bao's office indicates that the 
centers while under the CCC/TSPM, likely operate more 
independently.  End Comment.) 
 
¶11.  (C) Amcit Kim Bennett said unregistered house churches were 
also in need of theological education for their pastors. 
Bennett, who conducted training for several house church 
pastors, said that while many were well versed in the Bible 
itself, they lacked training in church doctrines and in the 
practical application of the Bible to life, such as in marriage 
and parenting. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Religious Registration:  CCC/TSPM Still Holds A Veto 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶12. (C) According to Xu, the CCC/TSPM still held veto power over 
which Protestant churches could register.  While the government 
nominally supported the registration of underground churches, 
the CCC/TSPM often opposed their registration.  Xu opined that 
registration was not really that important to many underground 
churches and was not a good measurement of religious freedom in 
China.  Many underground churches, such as the ones in Wenzhou, 
saw no benefit to registration.  These churches believed that, 
if they registered, they would lose congregants who were opposed 
to government interference in religion.  (Comment: While legally 
the registration process is controlled by the RAB, the CCC/TSPM 
apparently continues to play "gatekeeper" for Protestant 
churches, despite statements from SARA Director Ye Xiaowen that 
churches can register independently of the CCC/TSPM. (Ref B). 
End comment.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
SMIC:  Money Paves the Way for Building A Church 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶13.  (C) Kao visited the SMIC campus in the suburbs of Shanghai 
on February 27, where she met with SMIC CEO Richard Chang's 
Executive Assistant Beverly Liu.  Liu explained that SMIC 
produced semi-conductor chips in facilities in Shanghai, 
Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu and Wuhan, which provided employees 
with housing as well as churches and schools for their 
employees.  The Beijing and Shanghai facilities both had 
churches nearby for SMIC employees.  According to Liu, CEO Chang 
had a holistic business approach and was a devout Christian who 
openly discussed his faith.  Christianity was an important part 
of the company's culture.  Many SMIC employees were very 
religious and, while they did not proselytize, also did not hide 
their religion. 
 
¶14. (C) SMIC built its Shanghai church in 2006 and donated it to 
the CCC/TSPM, which oversaw the church's services.  The church 
had two buildings, the larger one held 700 people and the 
smaller one of which held 200 people.  The church had services 
in both English and Chinese, which were open to the local 
population.  A few blocks from the church was an independent 
religious book store.  According to Liu, the store was opened by 
an overseas Chinese couple that had returned to Shanghai.  The 
store did not appear to sell any Bibles, but had Chinese 
language editions of Christian self-help books.  Liu said that 
most of the books were printed by "Focus on the Family", a U.S. 
 
SHANGHAI 00000166  004 OF 004 
 
 
NGO, which contracted out to a factory in China.  Liu said that 
relations with the Chinese government were very good since SMIC 
brought many benefits to local communities.  The company has 
invested approximately 5 billion USD in China, two-thirds of it 
in Shanghai.  It had also brought a great deal of high 
technology to China.  In addition, SMIC hired a wide range of 
employees from low-skill laborers to engineers.  According to 
Liu, SMIC had no problems with local governments and some were 
practically "throwing churches" at SMIC to attract the company. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
COMMENT:  Working with the "Gatekeepers" 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶15.  (C) The CCC/TSPM continues to play a strong role in the 
registration of churches and in the success of "independent" 
faith-based groups, like Amity.  However, the CCC/TSPM is not 
all powerful and needs funds and personnel to reach its own 
goals of improving education for clergy, training for lay 
leaders, and increasing its provision of social services.  The 
example of SMIC demonstrates that organizations that bring 
significant resources such as jobs, technology, or investment; 
and who are willing to work with local authorities may find 
space for growth of religious activities.  Future attempts by 
the USG to engage the Central Government on legalizing the 
activities of unregistered religious groups should take into 
account the role of the patriotic associations such as the 
CCC/TSPM.  End Comment. 
 
¶16. (U) This report was coordinated with DRL/IRF Kao. 
JARRETT