Four members of the Episcopal Church in the United States visited Nanjing, China June 29 - July 1, 1998. The purpose was to follow up on General Convention resolutions calling for dialogue with the church in China around issues of human rights, especially Tibet and policies of U.S. companies doing business in China.
The substantive sessions of the visit took place over day long meetings with the President of the China Christian Council (CCC), Dr. Han Wenzao, followed by a session with the former president K.H. Ting, an internationally revered bishop from the Anglican tradition. Dr. Han was joined by his associate responsible for international relations, the Reverend Bao Jiayuan.
Tibet and Human Rights
The China Christian Council expressed its appreciation for the final text of the Tibet resolution passed at General Convention, 1997, calling on China to meet with the Dalai Lama and to respect the religious tradition of the Tibetan people. While the CCC has a different view of Tibet than proponents of the resolution, officials noted that the text was gracious in tone and language.
The delegation discussed Americans’ interest in Tibet, postulating, among other things, a hunger in American society for spiritual meaning. While recognizing a certain romantic view of Tibet, the delegation affirmed its concern for human rights and support of dialogue between the Dalai Lama and Chinese government. Further, concern was expressed for the well being of the Panchan Lama, second to the Dalai Lama, who has been kidnapped by Chinese authorities. Another Panchan Lama has been selected by Beijing. The question is who will be involved in choosing the next successor (reincarnation) of the Dalai Lama.
While there are differences between U.S. and Chinese views over Tibet, officials of the CCC acknowledged several times over the course of the meeting that China was not perfect on human rights matters. They explained that the U.S. grew out of a democratic tradition that is central to U.S. and western culture. Democracy, however, is a new development for China, having lived under feudal dynasties for centuries. It was not until 1919 that such ideas first surfaced. Therefore, it is important that westerners understand China’s context and not expect China to imitate the west, officials said.
While democracy exists in some measure (there are local village elections, for example) and while there are certainly more freedoms today since the days of the cultural revolution (1966-76), there is an argument often made that there is also a need for strong central control because of China's enormous 1.2 billion person population. Even some ardent proponents of democracy conclude that stability is maintained by a strong central government. Stability, the argument goes, allows for economic controls that protect this vast population against poverty and chaos. However, human rights on issues like detention without trial, torture, imprisonment for political beliefs and forced labor are legitimate concerns for the international community.
The delegation pointed out that the global economy forces all of us to be concerned about internal matters in other countries. The example given was a U.S. shareholder resolution filed with the Boeing corporation in which the Episcopal Church owns stock. Boeing has large contracts with the Chinese government, thereby making China's human rights policies important to Americans. The delegation explained that profits made by the church from a country that commits human rights violations creates a moral dilemma for Christians in the U.S. CCC officials appreciated the point, but took exception to the shareholder resolution, which they said was riddled with inaccuracies, strident language and poor documentation.
The CCC and the delegation were in agreement that President Clinton's visit to China, which coincided with the delegation's visit, was remarkable for the candor and openness expressed between the two leaders. Dr. Han particularly thought President Jiang's desire to learn more about "Lamaism" in Tibet was a notable and positive sign. He also affirmed that such visits can only improve understandings between peoples from very different cultures.
The members of the delegation included two Commission members from Anglican and International Peace with Concerns, Madeline Trichel, chair, and The Reverend Donor Macneice. The Reverend Leng Lim represented the Social Responsibility in Investment Committee of Executive Council. The fourth participant was Reverend Canon Brian Grieves, Director of Peace and Justice Ministries.
