“Come, everyone, and clap your hands for joy! Shout to God with joyful praise! For the Lord Most High is awesome. He is the great King of all the earth.”

 Psalm 47:1-2

Unrest

In early March, the Chinese authorities announced that they had foiled two terrorist plots, both involving Uighurs in Xinjiang province. In one, two people had apparently smuggled explosive materials on board a plane flying from Urumqi to Beijing. Their plan to crash the plane was thwarted when they were spotted acting suspiciously and the plane made an emergency landing in Lanzhou. The second plot was “to sabotage the staging of the Beijing Olympics,” according to the Xinjiang Party leader Wang Lequan. Two people were killed and 15 arrested in a police raid on an apartment in Urumqi, where guns, home-made bombs and extremist literature were found.

Just a few days after the announcement concerning Xinjiang, it was Tibet that became the focus of attention. Protests against Chinese rule spread from the Tibetan capital Lhasa to a number of other Tibetan areas. In the ensuing violence, numerous buildings were destroyed. Chinese media described riots in which Tibetan mobs beat up innocent people and killed at least 18. Representatives of the Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, based in India, said the death toll was close to 140, with many Tibetans being killed by Chinese security forces.

A spokesman from China’s Public Security Ministry claimed the wave of protests were part of a “Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement” ahead of the Olympic Games. He said police had discovered guns, ammunition, knives and explosives in the dormitories of Tibetan monks. “Back in 2007 the Tibetan independence forces in the United States plotted this very concept. They believe it will be their last chance to realise Tibetan independence,” he said at a press conference. “To our knowledge, the next plan of the Tibetan independence forces is to organise suicide squads to launch violent attacks.” (BBC)

Apart from two short, heavily supervised tours for a small number of diplomats and overseas media, all foreigners were barred from the Tibetan areas, so it was difficult to ascertain exactly what was happening there. Large numbers of troops were moved into the region. Police and troops were said to be manning checkpoints across Lhasa and there were reports of hundreds of arrests. Monks in the major monasteries were believed to be confined to the premises. China maintained that its security forces have exercised "maximum restraint".

A Positive Image?

As the 2008 Olympic ceremonies began in Greece in late March, three demonstrators broke through a police cordon and tried to approach Liu Qi, Beijing’s main representative. One protester carried a black banner with five interlocked handcuffs in the pattern of the Olympic rings. Police quickly intervened and the protesters were led away, while Liu continued with his speech. “The Olympic flame will radiate light and happiness, peace and friendship, and hope and dreams to the people of China and the whole world,” he told the crowd (Reuters). Protests continued as the Olympic torch began a tour around the world.

China longs to present a positive image to the world during the Beijing Olympics this August and the authorities are doing their best to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Security is a top priority. “Without security guarantees, there cannot be a successful Olympic Games, and without security guarantees the national image will be lost,” President Hu Jintao has commented. The People’s Armed Police have been told to prepare for an arduous time ensuring order and control before and during the Games. “The drums of war are sounding, a decisive battle is at hand. For the sake of the Chinese nation’s image and for the honour of the People’s Armed Police, let us not forget our duty,” announced the mobilisation order. (Reuters)

Human rights groups see things from a different perspective. Amnesty International has released a report claiming that China’s human rights record is getting worse as a result of its planned staging of the Olympics. The organisation says that China is clamping down on dissent in a bid to portray a stable and harmonious image. “It is increasingly clear that much of the current wave of repression is occurring not in spite of the Olympics but actually because of the Olympics,” the report claims.

“We cannot let the Chinese government seize the Olympic flame, a symbol of peace without condemning the dramatic human rights situation,” said the secretary general of Reporters Without Borders (Reuters). Events in Tibet (see Day One) have increased activists’ calls for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics. However, at the time of writing, this seems unlikely to take place.

Increasing Challenges

As the situation in China grows more tense, with the unrest in Tibet and the lead-up to the Olympics, we as a ministry are beginning to feel the effects. Longer-term China visas have become more difficult to obtain and several of our China-based co-workers are looking at the possibility of having to leave the country on a regular basis to renew their visas. This obviously involves both inconvenience and greater expense.

With the restrictions on access to the Tibetan region, we are unsure whether some of this year’s teams will be able to go ahead. A medical team was due to serve in a poverty-stricken Tibetan area during April, bringing medical supplies and providing much-needed advice and treatment. However, this team had to be cancelled as even an alternative venue to help Tibetans was not possible under the present circumstances. We also have several intercession and intercessory trekking teams planned for later this year, which were all heading to areas that have been closed because of the unrest. We ask for your prayers for wisdom and open doors for each of these teams.

Several of our long-term workers are focussing their ministry on the Tibetan areas. Two of our co-workers have already had to leave the region where they were ministering and relocate to a major city for the time being because of the unrest. Other co-workers have been barred from making their regular visits to these areas.

We have also recently heard of the arrest of a printer with whom we have worked in the past. She was originally arrested and then released at the end of last year. Then in March she was again taken into custody. She is expecting a baby later in the year.

In the midst of the challenges and uncertainty, we continue to trust that the Lord will bring about His sovereign purposes as we join together to lift the situation up before Him.

Caring for the Needy

Some years ago, a house church in east China was told to close by the government authorities. The church workers then committed themselves to a week of prayer and fasting to seek God’s will and felt He was calling them to care for local migrant workers. In response, the church divided into small groups and spent most weekdays assisting the migrants with their daily needs. The positive testimony of their practical ministry amongst the migrants led to good relations with the local government and today the church is able to worship more openly once again.

As an “underground” church, China’s house churches have very little history of engaging in social issues. However, more recently the door has opened for projects to help not just migrants, but also orphans, needy children, AIDs sufferers, the homeless and the elderly. OMF reports that even prison visitation is now possible in some areas of China.

The official Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) churches are also increasingly involved in social welfare projects. A church in Luzhou, Sichuan province, has set up a home for the elderly, a kindergarten and a clinic next to the church. They also offer a marriage counselling service that has been advertised on local television. In Henan province, where a major outbreak of AIDS was caused by illegal blood-selling, the TSPM has become involved in AIDS awareness and prevention training, supporting AIDS orphans and providing a livelihood for those affected by AIDS. The pastor of a church in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, reports, “Some doctors now offer free medical check-ups on our premises and people can even come to our church for a free hair cut” (Amity News Service).

“This phenomenon represents a significant historical shift in two hundred years of the church in China,” suggests one commentator, allowing the church “to assert a positive influence upon the society, resulting in church growth” (China 20/20).

Factory Closures

“Scores of South Korean-owned factories are closing surreptitiously in eastern China as their owners flee rising costs, leaving behind embittered workers,” according to a recent Reuters report. “I went to work on the first day after Spring Festival, only to be told that the Korean boss had run away and the factory had been closed,” one former worker shared. Many workers then face a long fight to get any wages they may be owed.

Since China began to open to the outside world again in the late 1970s, thousands of foreign business people have poured into the country. Taking advantage of cheap labour costs and special tax breaks, they set up businesses and looked forward to growing profits. A large number of such factories export toys, clothing and other labour-intensive items to the United States, Europe and various Asian countries.

However, in recent years, government policy has changed. Tax breaks are ending and costs are rising. A new labour contract law mandates shorter working hours and holidays for employees, as well as making it harder to lay off staff. As a result, one report suggests that 20 to 30 percent of the 6,000 Korean firms in Qingdao alone are now losing money.

Some foreign-run factories are responding by moving inland to take advantage of cheaper costs in less-developed areas. Others, like the South Koreans mentioned above, simply cut and run. For the Chinese workers left behind, this can create major difficulties.

A Dramatic Change

“I came from a family of idol-worshippers, all of whom were filled with bitterness, hatred and animosity. Repression and counter-repression were the order of the day, which trapped everyone in agony. After I started working, I got married, and found myself at odds with everyone around me. I fought with my wife at home, my colleagues in the office, and I quarrelled with my bosses whenever something was not to my liking. Every day, I would report for work late but leave early, and I would vent my frustrations on my kid whenever I had a tiff with my wife. I ranted at them and often beat them up, and I even boozed, gambled and frequented prostitutes to spite them.

The fact was that, while I felt sorry each time this happened, I could not free myself from the grasp of this demon. Life was no longer meaningful for me. It was after I had been plucked from death in my third suicide attempt that many Christian brothers and sisters came to visit me, took care of me and invited me over to their church. I was attracted by their great love more than anything else, but became convinced by what the teachers were saying. I no longer think about those unhappy sufferings in the past, but I am now filled with nothing but the sweet teachings of the Lord Jesus. All my demonic behaviour had since left me! My wife also turned to Jesus after she had witnessed for herself that a real change had indeed taken place in me and my child followed suit. We no longer fight each other and peace now reigns in our matrimonial home.” (Letter to the Far East Broadcasting Company from north-western Qinghai province)

From our International Director

Isaiah 55:9 is a good verse for us as praying Christians to feed into our minds and our spirits when we turn to prayer, especially when we pray for the nations of our world. It says, "For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Its challenge is simple. When we pray, we need to understand both what the Lord is doing now and what His longer plan of action is. Then we need to pray directly along the lines of His plans, not ours.

In Acts 1:6 the disciples try to steer the Lord their way – when are you going to bless our nation? He replied with His plan (Acts 1:8) – that He wants to bless their nation and all the nations of the world as well. And not to bless them in the way they wanted, but to bless them with the truth of the Gospel.

As I write this at the beginning of April, that is powerfully true with Tibet. The papers and the media are full of the sad and shocking events that are happening there – though of course there are two very different versions, depending as to where you live and who you listen to. (Read Day One again for an understanding of that.) One thing is clear: there has been great suffering and loss of life, and now Tibetan areas are closed down to help from outside – in some senses when they most need it. Hidden behind those events, for example, is a completely different and largely untold story of great suffering recently through a very severe winter, leading to hunger, loss of cattle (livelihood), snow blindness and so on.

But in the midst of this I would like to draw your attention to two simple facts – one from the Bible and one from history.

Firstly, the Bible says His ways are not our ways. The Lord wants the Tibetan people to come in great numbers into the liberating freedom of the Lord Jesus Christ through faith in His finished work on the cross. Last night I was in a prayer meeting with some Chinese folk and there were loud cries from their hearts to see this unusual people group visited with revival power by the Holy Spirit. Whatever else we pray for Tibet, that has to be our main prayer, because it is His most fundamental plan.

Secondly, a lesson from history. Many of your reading these words will know that there has been a move of God unparalleled in terms of numbers amongst the Chinese people. Multitudes in the last 30 years have come to faith in the Lord Jesus. But not so many will know that that revival was birthed out of the equally unprecedented misery and suffering of the Cultural Revolution in China. It was in the valley of deep suffering that the spiritual soil of China was prepared for so many to come to Jesus.

As we look at those two facts – the Biblical one and the historical one – we may well ask whether the Lord is preparing to move in a similar way in Tibet. As Isaiah 55:9 says, the way He does things is not our way at all. That at any rate is how we should be praying – for Tibet and China today. Lord, out of tears and despair, visit that great land and its many peoples in a new way.