Reflections from Pastor John Cao is a series of poetry and writings from the recently released Chinese Christian prisoner of conscience exclusively published by ChinaAid. The piece below was written on April 14, 2024 and has been minimally edited for clarity. To read more of Pastor John Cao’s poetry, one can purchase the collection written while he was imprisoned, Living Lyrics: Poems from Prison.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, campaigns of various scales have never ceased. The major ones include Land Reform Movement, the Great Leap Forward, the Anti-Rightist Campaign, the Cultural Revolution, and so on. Whenever a campaign is launched, a large number of unjust and wrongful cases inevitably emerge. Former General Secretary Hu Yaobang was well-loved by the people, and in fact, he only did one simple thing: rehabilitating the unjust and wrongful cases from previous campaigns. A person’s greatness is highlighted by countless unjust and wrongful cases, which shows the harm and negative effects that campaigns have brought to society.
In the past decade, there have been two relatively large-scale campaigns. One is the campaign to arrest lawyers that began in 2015, known as the “709 Crackdown” because it started on July 9th. To date, this campaign has arrested hundreds of rights defense lawyers. The other is the campaign to arrest Christians of house churches, which first began in 2015 with the demolition of churches and crosses in Zhejiang province. Subsequently, pastors and related staff of house churches, such as book sellers, were arrested. So far, hundreds of people have been arrested and sentenced, including Pastor Wang Yi who was sentenced to nine years in prison. The number of believers who have been harassed and had their homes searched is countless.
The so-called campaigns are designed and artificially launched by authorities to crack down on certain types of people; they have a certain time span and quotas. For example, during the Land Reform Movement, landlords and rich farmers were the targets, and the proportion of landlords and rich farmers who were denounced accounted for 3% of the rural population. During the Anti-Rightist Campaign, the target was 5%. In order to meet the quota of the Anti-Rightist Campaign, even minors were labeled as rightists. Zhang Kejin, a child from Daxian County, Sichuan Province, was only 12 years old when he was labeled a “rightist” and sent to prison, becoming the youngest rightist in the Anti-Rightist Campaign of the People’s Republic of China. Nowadays, campaigns may not have hard quotas, but when a campaign is launched, grassroots police and cadres must respond to the call and produce results, which in effect means that superiors have set quotas for their subordinates.
I was arrested in March 2017 and sentenced to seven years in prison. During my seven years in prison, I kept wondering why I was given such a heavy sentence. Everything I did was in line with the national interest.
First, the Wa State and Kachin State in Myanmar are within the scope of the Belt and Road Initiative advocated by the Chinese government.
Second, the Wa State and Kachin State are extremely poor, and my poverty alleviation efforts there were also in line with China’s national policies.
Third, that area is on the edge of the Golden Triangle, where drugs are rampant, and large quantities of drugs flow into China from Myanmar every day. I established drug rehabilitation centers and went from village to village to spread the message of not bringing drugs into China.
Fourth, I promoted Chinese culture and taught Chinese to several thousand Myanmar children.
Fifth, the route I took to Myanmar is the same one taken by thousands of people, and no one has ever been punished for it.
Sixth, I did not organize anyone to illegally cross the border. Yet, I was heavily sentenced to seven years in prison for “organizing others to illegally cross the border.”
In prison, almost all criminals could have their sentences reduced, including murderers, rapists, and drug lords, but I was the only one who couldn’t have a single day reduced. During my seven years in prison, I kept thinking every day about why some people wanted to frame me.
After I was released, many brothers and sisters came to visit me and unanimously told me that in the past seven years, hundreds of pastors and co-workers from house churches had been arrested and sentenced. Pastor Wang Yi was heavily sentenced, and countless Christians were given administrative detention. Suddenly, I understood why I was arrested and heavily sentenced. It turned out that another campaign was being launched. Christians from house churches are the primary targets. Therefore, my arrest and sentencing were not because I committed any crime, but because I am a pastor of a house church in China. Even if I hadn’t been arrested in Menglian, Yunnan province, I would have been arrested in some other province or county, because I am the target of the campaign.
This campaign not only affects preachers, pastors, and staff of Christian house churches but also affects the economic sphere. People told me that Christmas used to have a festive atmosphere, with Christmas trees, Christmas dinners, and so on. Now, all Christmas-related items and activities are prohibited, claiming to resist the invasion of Western culture.
On the one hand, China proclaims that Chinese culture is increasingly popular among people around the world, and the Confucius Institutes established by the Chinese government are all over the globe. Chinese embassies and consulates hold Spring Festival galas and receptions worldwide. While promoting the Spring Festival and Confucius, the government prohibits Christmas activities and suppresses Christianity domestically. In my opinion, only exporting Chinese culture while prohibiting the import of foreign cultures is, to put it mildly, narrow-mindedness and lack of confidence on the part of the Chinese nation. To put it bluntly, this has a strong flavor of cultural imperialism. Anyone with a little understanding of international trade principles knows that in trade, there must be a balance between exports and imports. If we only emphasize exports and earning foreign exchange without simultaneous imports, it will not be good for the domestic economy in the long run. Over time, foreign merchants’ interest in importing Chinese goods will greatly diminish. If Confucius can go out, why can’t Jesus come in? When Chinese people discuss Confucius overseas, it is seen as an act of patriotism and is affirmed and encouraged. Why is it considered a crime when foreigners come to China to talk about Jesus? This is just another version of the closed-door policy.
The resistance to foreign cultural invasion has expanded and spread to the prohibition of the out-of-school tutoring industry. Two or three years ago, all tutoring schools were ordered to shut down. A huge industry was thus destroyed. As a professional teacher, I also feel that excessive tutoring is not good for students. But everything has its own laws of development. Some students with poor exam results need extra tutoring to meet the requirements. Parents are exhausted after a day’s work and don’t have the energy to tutor their children. Many parents also lack the relevant knowledge to tutor their own children, so what should those children with poor grades do? Watch them fail to get into university? Moreover, tutoring schools also serve as babysitters, helping parents look after their children and preventing them from going astray without supervision.
The tutoring industry is a bit like a marriage matchmaking agency. When lovers naturally come together and form a family, it’s of course a good thing. Similarly, marriages arranged through matchmaking agencies can also turn out well. In today’s China, matchmaking agencies are flourishing, becoming a huge industry. Tutoring schools are somewhat similar to matchmaking agencies, catering to those with less-than-adequate abilities. Many investors in the education industry have poured massive amounts of money into it. However, with just one policy change, the entire multibillion-dollar industry can be completely destroyed. In the provincial capital city where I reside, New Oriental once rented prime locations in the most prosperous areas, but went bankrupt two years ago. To this day, those storefronts remain empty. Why would the government want to completely destroy an industry that is popular and brings enormous economic and social benefits?
Cracking down on Christians and related industries has at least four negative effects.
First, it hurts the hearts of some people. When you arrest a pastor, you hurt at least a hundred believers, because without the pastor’s spiritual guidance and care, the believers will naturally feel resentment. Now that you have arrested hundreds of pastors, you have hurt millions of Christians. These Christians, including pastors, are citizens who were born and raised in the socialist motherland. The government claims to serve the people. We don’t ask the government to provide too many services to us Christians, but at least don’t easily hurt us. What is the point of the government doing things that lose people’s hearts? Aren’t the lessons from the Anti-Rightist Campaign and the Cultural Revolution enough for our nation? An extreme leftist theory spreads rumors that if Christianity is not restricted, Christians will gain power in a few years and may even overturn the government. This is a purely Cultural Revolution mindset. The Cultural Revolution claimed that if landlords and rich farmers were not fought against, China would change color and millions of people would lose their lives. This is purely an obscurantist policy. We Christians all support the leadership of the Communist Party and the Constitution. How could we possibly subvert the government? Moreover, 80% of Christians are women and the elderly, with relatively low education levels. There are nearly 100 million Communist Party members, each with high quality, and they hold power in various departments at all levels, control the public security, procuratorial, and judicial organs, the military, education, and so on. To say that Christians want to overthrow the state power is probably too much of a joke. No wonder when local governments crack down on pastors of house churches, accusing them of subverting state power, people only have one impression: the public security organs are bullying the weak.
Second, it hurts the economy. Religious believers have their own consumption patterns. Suppressing Christianity means eliminating related industries. Although Christmas is far less significant than the Spring Festival, if the Spring Festival can boost the economy, then Christmas can also boost the economy, even if not by much. The tutoring industry and other industries have produced many positive social benefits and huge economic benefits. Now, suspecting that tutoring schools are competing with the state for the next generation and destroying them is utterly unreasonable. The destroyed Christian churches and tutoring schools provided at least hundreds of thousands of jobs. In the current economic downturn, destroying churches, tutoring schools, and other entities is actually the government departments working against themselves. Christians have always been known for their willingness to donate. During the Wenchuan earthquake, Christians donated more than 10 billion yuan. If the churches are scattered, where will these Christians be gathered the next time donations are needed? The country is now rich and has foreign exchange reserves of 3 trillion US dollars, perhaps not caring about the small donations from Christians, but isn’t uniting the strength of the entire nation the goal of the ruling party?
Third, it greatly damages the face of China and the Chinese government. Every year, the Chinese government’s international standing rises significantly, which is something every Chinese citizen is proud of. The Chinese government spares no effort in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative every year, spending countless funds. We, as citizens, also feel that it is worthwhile. However, the crackdown on house churches by some local governments has brought completely opposite and negative publicity to the Chinese government. There is a Chinese saying, “Good news doesn’t leave the door, bad news travels a thousand miles.” The local governments’ persecution of Christians is undoubtedly a bad thing and an evil act. Today’s Internet era is completely different from the social model of the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution could “close the door and beat the dog,” but today, any crackdown on house churches will make the Chinese government notorious. Moreover, there are 2 billion Christians worldwide. If you hurt the hearts of 2 billion Christians, you are essentially greatly damaging the face of the Chinese government. The image that the Chinese government has painstakingly crafted around the world is ruined by a single instance of local governments persecuting Christians.
Fourth, the rule of law is trampled upon. The Chairman of the country has solemnly promised the world that China will be built into a country governed by the rule of law. He has also solemnly promised the Chinese people, “We will strive to make the people feel fairness and justice in every judicial case.” However, unfortunately, we do not see a bit of fairness and justice in all the church cases. Or rather, every church case is an unjust and wrongful case. In every church case, from the motive and reason for filing the case, to the law enforcement process, to the outcome of the trial, we Christians do not feel fairness and justice. Churches receiving donations are labeled as “illegal business operations,” pastors receiving subsidies from churches are labeled as “fraud,” ten Christians praying for ten minutes in an open space are accused of “illegal gathering.” It’s really a case of “if you want to condemn someone, you can always find a charge.” A small case is delayed again and again, dragging on for two or three years without trial or sentencing, seriously violating legal procedures. The court uses “case complexity” to cover up the unfair and unjust delays. It has been one month and ten days since I was released from prison, and I still haven’t been given an ID card, preventing me from reuniting with my family, which violates human relations. It prevents me from seeing a doctor when I’m ill, which violates humanitarian principles. In all this, where can we ordinary citizens feel fairness and justice?
The direct consequence of unjust and wrongful cases is the alienation between the people and the government. Today, I want to publicly say something that many people say in private: I sincerely request the government to stop launching campaigns and stop the unfair treatment of house church Christians. Persecuting Christians is like the Anti-Rightist Campaign, a completely self-harming and self-mutilating act. It hurts us common people and also harms the Chinese government itself.
