Source: The Independent
President George Bush attended a Christian service in Beijing yesterday to call for greater religious freedom in China but, in an indication of how religious persecution persists in the fiercely secular country, a leading local underground church activist was detained en route to the same ceremony.
Hua Huiqi was cycling to the Kuanjie church when he was stopped by security officers working with the religious affairs bureau. He and his brother were taken away and their bibles were seized.
Later, after the President and his wife, Laura, had attended the Protestant service, they gathered with parishioners on the front steps, where Mr Bush made some pointed remarks about religious freedom. "No state, man or woman should fear the influence of loving religion," he said.
The Sunday service was conducted in Chinese but translated for the Bush family, and a children's choir performed the hymn "Amazing Grace" in English and Chinese. "I had a very uplifting experience going to a church," Mr Bush said, adding that he felt very strongly about religion. He thanked President Hu Jintao for helping to arrange the visit. It was not clear if Mr Bush was aware of Mr Hua's detention.
As a Communist country, which favours dialectical materialism over transubstantiation, China strictly controls Christianity. Believers can only worship in officially approved churches such as the one Mr Bush visited yesterday. That means that millions of people pray privately in house churches, organised by underground church groups, to avoid detection.
As the US President was attending church, three American Christian activists were detained for protesting for religious freedom in Beijing's central Tiananmen Square. The members of the Christian Defence Coalition were arrested as they started a prayer vigil outside the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall.
Mr Bush's calls for greater religious tolerance come hard on the heels of critical remarks about China's human rights record that have already angered his hosts. Relations have been strained since his comments last week.