VZCZCXRO5686
PP RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHVC
DE RUEHCHI #0116 1770658
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 260658Z JUN 07
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0508
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 0738
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI PRIORITY 0557
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0005

C O N F I D E N T I A L CHIANG MAI 000116 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  6/26/2017 
TAGS: PHUM CASC PREL KIRF SOCI OEXC TH CH
SUBJECT: CHIANG MAI SERVES AS BASE FOR CHINA-FOCUSED CHRISTIAN GROUP 
 
REF: A. A) BEIJING 4237 - AMERICANS EXPELLED FROM XINJIANG FOR RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES 
 
     ¶B. B) (05) CHIANG MAI 106 - CHIANG MAI EXPANDS AS HUB FOR CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY WORK IN ASIA 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Bea Camp, Consul General, Consulate Chiang Mai, 
Dept of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  Chiang Mai's large foreign Christian community 
provides a safe base for religious groups engaged in quiet work 
elsewhere in the region.  While most do not identify their 
activities to the Consulate, our presence and American citizen 
services contribute to Chiang Mai's appeal for these 
organizations.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Northern Thailand, with an American missionary presence 
dating from 1867, has served as a fall-back zone for religious 
groups forced out of China, Tibet, and Burma for over half a 
century.  More recently, Chiang Mai has attracted organizations 
such as the Christian Conference of Asia, which moved from Hong 
Kong in 2005 (ref b), as well as those seeking temporary haven, 
such as Pakistan's Murree Christian School in 2003. 
 
¶3. (C)  A look at one of these groups, Friends of China (FOC), 
shows a route by which religiously motivated individuals find 
their way into China as English teachers and "qualified 
professionals in various fields".  The foundation, which moved 
its regional office to Chiang Mai in 1997 after a decade in Hong 
Kong, lists Chengdu as the main China location, with rep offices 
in Xining, Xian and Urumqi.  FOC currently has about 150 
"associates" working in 7 provinces and municipalities in China. 
 An estimated 40 percent of these associates are US citizens. 
 
¶4. (C) The FOC website includes no reference to religion, 
referring instead to "support for education".   In contrast, a 
brochure available at the Thailand office defines FOC as "a 
charitable foundation that seeks to place, equip and support 
Christian professionals serving primarily in western and central 
China."  The Chiang Mai office director, a Norwegian who worked 
in China for Ericsson as part of the program, says that FOC 
associates do not hide their religion but are advised on the 
prevailing cultural boundaries of their various locations. 
 
¶5. (SBU) A visit to the back-street Chiang Mai office of FOC 
included a tour by an American teacher who was helping staff the 
office while on leave from Zhengzhou during the last trimester 
of his wife's pregnancy.   Chiang Mai's medical facilities, low 
cost of living, church community and access to Consular Reports 
of Birth Abroad contribute to this kind of arrangement. 
 
¶6. (C) Applications for FOC jobs pass through the Chiang Mai 
office, where they are cleansed of references to religious 
affiliation before being sent on to Chengdu for processing. 
Most associates enter China through Chiang Mai, where they 
receive a short orientation and apply at the Chinese Consulate 
for visas.  The receiving work units in China arrange 
longer-term visas for those under their responsibility. 
 
¶7. (C) In response to questions about visas and other 
procedures, the head of the Chiang Mai office repeatedly 
referred to Chinese "flexibility", noting that flexibility 
increases with distance from Beijing.  He rated Qinghai as "the 
most flexible" province, acknowledging that Xinjiang is 
particularly sensitive.  Although no FOC associates have been 
expelled from the country in the organization's 20 year history, 
several have not have their visas renewed, including recently a 
Swedish couple in Xinjiang. 
 
CAMP