VZCZCXRO8056
RR RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHCN #0161/01 1790858
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 280858Z JUN 07
FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2550
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 3081

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000161 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  6/28/2032 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SCUL SOCI KIRF CH
SUBJECT: CHENGDU PATRIOTIC CHURCH LEADER COOPERATING WITH AMERICAN 
"ENGLISH TEACHERS" 
 
CHENGDU 00000161  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: John Hill, Acting Consul General, AmCongen 
Chengdu, State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  A local leader of China's officially-sanctioned 
Three Selves Patriotic Movement (TSPM) Christian Church and two 
local American English teachers discussed their cooperation in 
using expatriate-taught "English camps" and similar programs as 
a means to introduce local residents to Christian ideas. 
Although the Christian content of such programs is all but open 
knowledge, local authorities apparently tolerate such 
activities.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Congenoffs met with Sichuan Christian Council General 
Secretary and TSPM minister Reverend Richard Cai and two 
 
SIPDIS 
American English teachers (strictly protect ) to discuss the 
status of cooperation between China's officially-sanctioned 
Christian Church in Sichuan and expatriate "English teachers" 
who are "employees" of a legally registered educational training 
organization . 
 
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ENGLISH CLASSES WITH A RELIGIOUS FOCUS 
 
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¶3. (C) The teachers presented two sets of business cards - one 
introducing themselves as "Representatives to China" from the 
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) with offices in Atlanta and 
Hong Kong, the other stating that they were "Overseas 
Coordination Directors" for the Hua Mei International Education 
and Training Center (Hua Mei) based in Chengdu.  They explained 
that for visa purposes their presence in China was based on 
their affiliation with Hua Mei. 
 
¶4. (C) Founded in 2005, Hua Mei ostensibly manages English 
teaching programs in and around Chengdu, using teachers from the 
United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, 
explained the teachers.  Each week, Hua Mei conducts about 20 
hours of "business English" classes for local Chinese employees 
of a Singapore-based software firm.  In addition, the Center 
also conducts relatively informal conversational English classes 
attended by local residents and by five or six students from the 
Chengdu Christian seminary. 
 
¶5. (C) However, according to the teachers, Hua Mei's most 
important focus is its summer English camp program.  Held on a 
high school campus in Luxian (approximately four hours south of 
Chengdu by car), the camp is expected to draw about 400 students 
this year, almost all junior and senior high school students 
from relatively wealthy Chengdu families.  After campers 
conclude their morning English classes, they are free in the 
afternoons and evenings to interact with over 60 Christian 
volunteers from abroad.  Camp organizers also coordinate closely 
with the local Luxian TSPM church, and students have in the past 
worshipped with the Luxian Christian community during the course 
of the camp. 
 
¶6. (C) Neither the teachers nor Reverend Cai made any secret of 
the religious nature of the materials used at the camp or in Hua 
Mei's other English classes.  Although the teachers were careful 
to say  they obeyed all Chinese laws with respect to religion, 
and therefore did not engage in outright "proselytizing," they 
also said that the classes were an instrument of "spreading the 
Gospel" among their Chinese students.  They stressed the "above 
board" nature of their work in China and noted theirs was one of 
very few missionary organizations in southwest China to work 
with the official Christian Church. 
 
¶7. (C) Asked about their students' attitudes toward 
Christianity, the teachers admitted that virtually none of their 
students came from Christian families, and that many were 
attracted to Bible study out of a desire to understand more 
about the West.  They also said they received few or no 
financial donations from their students, but said Hua Mei 
receives the majority of its financial support from overseas 
congregations of the CBF. 
 
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AND COOPERATION WITH THE OFFICIAL CHURCH 
 
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CHENGDU 00000161  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
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¶8. (C) Perhaps most remarkable was the open nature of the 
cooperation between Hua Mei and Reverend Cai.  Cai is one of the 
founders and a board member of Hua Mei, an organization he 
worked to legally register as a training institution with the 
Sichuan Bureau of Education.  Cai at several points emphasized 
his in-depth involvement in the administration of Hua Mei, and 
indicated that he encouraged attendance at the camps by local 
youths interested in either English study or in learning more 
about Christianity.  For their part, the teachers stressed the 
uniqueness of their situation in working with the 
officially-sanctioned Chinese Church, saying that unlike some 
other Christian activists they saw no contradiction between 
their Christian ideals and the reality of the "Three Selves" 
Church. 
 
¶9. (C) At the same time, the teachers pointed out that other 
Christian missionaries in Chengdu, most of whom work with 
non-sanctioned house churches, treat them as outsiders due to 
their cooperation with the official Church.  In spite of this, 
they are working to establish contact with other expatriate 
missionaries (as well as local leaders of house churches) in the 
hope of creating a fuller dialogue on matters of faith and on 
the practical problems of missionary outreach.  They also noted 
that denominational and doctrinal differences often worked 
against this type of outreach. 
 
¶10. (C) In response to a question from Congenoff, Reverend Cai 
acknowledged he had made progress on plans to establish a third 
TSPM Church in Chengdu.  (Note: In previous conversations over 
 
SIPDIS 
the last two years, Cai had explained his desire to open a new 
church in the university district that would cater to a younger 
and more educated group of Christians.)  According to Cai, he 
has gained the agreement of the Chengdu Christian expatriate 
group to use their space in the afternoons after the foreigners 
have concluded their morning worship services.  Cai said he was 
optimistic the plan would be approved by the Sichuan Christian 
Council.  The Hua Mei teachers said the opening of the new 
church was set for September.   Cai also reiterated his goal of 
bringing visiting foreign preachers to the new church, which the 
permission of the Sichuan Christian Council. 
 
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COMMENT 
 
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¶11. (C) The fact that many expatriates working as "English 
teachers" in southwest China are actually engaged in missionary 
activity is no secret.  However, the willingness of at least one 
"Three Selves" Church leader to actively guide and participate 
in such work comes as something of a surprise. Although Reverend 
Cai appears to be an unusually open and western-oriented 
religious leader, such cooperation could not take place without 
higher-level approval.  The fact that Hua Mei has been able to 
conduct its activities for three years without interference may 
indicate a partial softening of official attitudes toward 
missionary activities in Southwest China. 
HILL