China and the Church

WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA
August 12, 2008

President Bush attended church in Beijing on Sunday. He worshipped alongside Chinese Christians and sang "Amazing Grace." But what happened outside the church says more about the state of the millions of Christians in China.

Earlier that morning, the pastor of an illegal underground Christian church, Hua Huiqi, was detained by police as he was biking to the service that Mr. Bush was to attend. His whereabouts are still unknown. Mr. Hua's brother, who was briefly detained, said Mr. Hua only wanted to worship at the church where he was baptized.

China's constitution ostensibly allows freedom of religion, but events like this show the real extent of this "freedom." On the mainland, religion is tolerated only insofar as it is controlled by the state. The only legal churches are those run by the State Administration of Religious Affairs, a government bureau. Those who choose to attend "house" churches -- roughly half of China's Christians -- face the prospect of harassment or detention. Dozens of Christians remain under arrest. the rest