VZCZCXRO1070
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHSH #0019/01 0410859
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100859Z FEB 10 ZDK
FM AMCONSUL SHENYANG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8974
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 0256

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHENYANG 000019 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/CM, INR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CH KS PGOV PHUM PINS SCUL SOCI
SUBJECT: GROWTH, CHANGE, CAUTION: CHRISTIANITY IN SHENYANG 
 
SHENYANG 00000019  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: According to priests and expatriate 
residents active in the local Christian community, there have 
been few recent difficulties for registered churches, though 
churches remain cautious in their activities. The Protestant 
Church has seen rapid growth compared to the Roman Catholic 
Church, but the latter remains active in social services. 
Congregations in all denominations are becoming younger. 
House churches and registered churches rarely interact. 
Unofficial churches remain active in the city, with few 
reported difficulties in recent years. End Summary. 
 
Flocking To Church 
------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) The number of Chinese joining Christian churches has 
increased rapidly in Shenyang. According to Pastor Jiang 
Zijin, head of Shenyang's largest Protestant Church, Dongguan 
Church, Shenyang now boasts 150,000 Protestants, a third of 
them living in the city proper. His church has added more 
than 10,000 worshippers during each of the last three years. 
Long-term-resident expatriates agree that the Christian 
Church has seen explosive growth. The crowds are so big that 
one local Christian Church now has two Chinese services every 
Sunday and multiple Korean-language services. The Chinese 
service PolOff attended was standing room only, and the 
pastor made use of PowerPoint. He told PolOff more than two 
thousand Chinese attend weekly. At a church in another 
district, PolOff saw hundreds of worshippers coming out of a 
Saturday service, and a congregant told PolOff there are more 
than 10,000 members of the church. By contrast, according to 
Fr. Joseph Zhang, a priest at Shenyang's main Catholic 
cathedral, his denomination is growing only slowly. Zhang 
reported there are about 100,000 Catholics in all of Liaoning 
Province. 
 
¶3. (SBU) House churches continue to attract worshippers. One 
of our Christian locally employed staff (LES) estimates the 
number of Christians worshipping at unofficial services is at 
least equal to and is perhaps double the number attending 
official services. An expat with some knowledge of local 
house churches told PolOff of being at a meeting attended by 
more than two hundred leaders of unofficial churches. The LES 
said that congregants at the unofficial churches are a mix of 
young and old. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Pastor Jiang reported that 60 percent of registered 
Protestant Churchgoers in Shenyang are elderly but that the 
newcomers tend to be younger followers. He now organizes 
special events for his college-aged and twenty-something 
congregants. At the service PolOff attended at the local 
Christian church discussed above, the congregation was 
predominantly female and a good quarter of the congregation 
was under thirty. Every Sunday afternoon the church hosts 
fellowship for younger congregants. According to Fr. Zhang, 
the Catholic Church has seen slow growth despite many new 
young members. These young congregants are replacing an older 
generation that has long been the majority of the Church. 
While the Protestant and Catholic churches are experiencing 
similar demographic trends, the rate of newcomers to the 
Protestant Church is exceeding its "replacement rate" by a 
much greater margin than is the Catholic Church. 
 
Church And State Relations Improving...Somewhat 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Fr. Jiang reiterated the oft-heard contention that 
as long as the Church does not threaten the government or 
stability and stays away from politics, it will be left 
alone. He revealed, for example, that government and Public 
Security Bureau (PSB) officers regularly worship in his 
church, though this is not publicized.  A local expat pointed 
to a 10,000-person-strong fellowship event held last summer 
in Shenyang's suburbs, which went completely undisturbed, as 
further proof of a hands-off policy. Nonetheless, church 
leaders and members remain cautious. Pastor Jiang 
acknowledged there are red lines that he must avoid crossing 
and that these are subject to change. Expats in the Christian 
community said they must always be careful to avoid the 
appearance of proselytizing. 
 
¶6. (SBU) One Amcit expat acknowledged she hears occasional 
stories of house churches being raided and people being 
detained, but she could not point to specific incidents or 
regions. According to our LES and a Korean expat here, house 
churches are careful to remain small--with no more than 
50-60 people attending an individual service. If the church 
grows too big, it splits apart. It appears these churches are 
not open to foreigners so as to avoid attracting unwelcome 
 
SHENYANG 00000019  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
attention from local authorities. Our Christian LES has not 
heard of any raids occurring for several years. 
 
¶7. (SBU) While foreigners are allowed to attend Chinese 
Christian services, Chinese are not allowed to attend foreign 
services. Thus, at a recent weekly fellowship for foreigners, 
PolOff saw around 100 mostly African, Indian, and Pakistani 
attendees and no Chinese worshippers.  Our Christian LES 
reported visiting this service once and was discouraged by 
the African pastor from attending again. (Note: Our LES 
believes foreigners may be more nervous about attracting 
attention from the government as they run the risk of being 
kicked out of the country. End Note.) At the Catholic Church, 
however, Chinese interested in the faith, in learning 
English, or in speaking with foreigners are able to attend 
the English-language Sunday service; most are university 
students.  Despite laws prohibiting teaching of religion to 
anyone below 18 years of age, Pastor Jiang says his church 
now offers Sunday school classes to around 200 children of 
his congregants. Our LES reports other local Protestant 
churches doing the same. 
 
Official And Unofficial Churches Not Playing Together 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Conversations with local religious leaders suggest 
relations are good between churches of different faiths and 
denominations but that there is little interaction with 
non-registered "house churches." Fr. Jiang said he believes 
members of house churches look down on members of 
government-approved churches, seeing congregants at approved 
churches like his as having "less authentic" faith and being 
somehow co-opted by the government. The Amcit expats PolOff 
spoke with said house-church worship was the most common form 
of Christian fellowship five to ten years ago, but now they 
primarily worship in official churches. A Korean expat with 
knowledge of the house church community also worships 
primarily at official churches. (Note: It is possible the 
Korean expat is more connected to the unofficial churches 
because of the heavy Korean presence in and influence on the 
Christian community in the northeast. End Note.) 
 
Serving The Community...In More Ways Than One 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Fr. Zhang, also executive director of the Catholic 
Social Service Center (CSSC) of Liaoning Province, has 
coordinated a number of activities, including support for 
HIV/AIDS patients and education outreach, youth volunteer 
works, support for rural communities, and support for migrant 
workers. He receives little help from the government, though 
the Religious Affairs Bureau has recognized the quality of 
CSSC's work. He has also been prevented from registering CSSC 
as an NGO, and many of the center's social activities have to 
be done under other names to avoid the appearance of 
proselytizing. Pastor Jiang told PolOff that he has plans for 
engaging younger members of his congregation in community 
service, though he did not expand on these plans. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Korean expat said a group of wealthy 
businessmen in the house-church community have organized a 
charitable group, some of whose members recently visited a 
Shaanxi Province colony set up for people suffering from 
Hansen's disease (leprosy). One of the group members owns a 
popular Shenyang restaurant that, according to the expat, 
remained closed on Sundays when it first opened. Because of 
its popularity with government officials, however, the 
restaurant soon began staying open on Sundays.  In the 
private rooms upstairs, one can enjoy a gospel performance 
from a trio of waiters -- the most friendly to be found in 
this district -- and the singing is followed by a brief 
lesson.  Downstairs the owner sometimes distributes gifts 
bearing advice on how to live a happier life, and religious 
icons are sold openly. The expat believes that the owner 
maintains this level of freedom due to a combination of 
wealth and political connections. 
 
WICKMAN