Moves to suppress Christians 'in vain'
THE rapid growth of underground churches will make it impossible for the Government to eliminate them, according to a mainland scholar.
Beijing might have to begin dialogue with the clandestine churches or give them covert authorisation under certain conditions, said Liu Peng, associate professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of American Studies.
In a paper presented at an international conference in Hong Kong on Church and State Relations in 21st-Century Asia, Mr Liu said there was a huge contrast between the vitality of clandestine churches and those which were government-sanctioned.
He said an unprecedented 'Christianity craze' was sweeping the country and the number of Christians had increased dramatically.
Official figures show there are four million Catholics and six to eight million Protestants in China.
But overseas groups estimate the number of Catholics and Protestants, including clandestine Christians, has reached 10 million and 30 million respectively.
'The development of the two kinds of autonomous churches [Catholic underground churches and Protestant house churches] is not only serious competition for the patriotic Catholic churches and the Protestant Three-Self churches, but also a big challenge to the religious management system of the Government' said Mr Liu, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University in the United States.
'It is very hard for the Government to stomach this situation.' The Government has tried to suppress the clandestine churches by arresting and imprisoning clerics and lay Christians, closing their meeting places, prohibiting religious materials being imported without approval and eliminating underground monasteries.
Despite this, Mr Liu said, the underground Christian movement kept growing.
The Government's actions had 'drawn extensive attention from the outside world and evoked intense criticism from some religious and human rights organisations', he said.
Given the importance of maintaining friendly relations with the West, it was 'extremely complicated and difficult' for the Government to try to eliminate underground churches or to slow the development of Christianity.
