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Religious policy is expected to remain repressive as Deng's successor, Jiang Zemin, has taken an even more active role in controlling the church in recent years. Appointed in 1989, Jiang has consolidated power and has largely directed China politically for the last five years in place of the ailing Deng.
Nicknamed "Lazarus" because of his ability to rise from the political dead, the diminutive Deng was the principal architect of China's economic reforms, steering the world's most populous nation away from the excesses of Maoism in 1978 by introducing a modernization campaign that allowed market forces to gradually replace a centrally planned economy. According to academic Michael Yahuda, "He set China on the road to economic prosperity, but his stubborn refusal to dismantle the totalitarian infrastructure of the state may be more important in the long run." Chinese people lost considerable respect for Deng when he ordered army units to shoot to kill unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators at Tiananmen Square in June 1989.
Under Deng the Chinese church grew from one million believers in the late 1970s to over 50 million by the late 1980s--the largest revival in the history of the church worldwide. (Others place the figure much lower, at 12 million).
Unlike Mao's Cultural Revolution period from 1966-1976, when Bibles were burned, churches closed and pastors imprisoned, Deng's reforms resulted in less social control. "For the first time in 1978 we could travel freely from province to province, and that meant itinerant evangelism could start again," said a Beijing house church leader.
Former US President Jimmy Carter claimed that when he met Deng in 1979 he made the leader promise that China would re-open churches and let the Bible circulate freely. This has happened to a limited extent. Over 5,000 churches were re-opened in the 1980s by the state-dominated Three Self Patriotic Movement--China's official Protestant church, though most believers prefer to worship away from its influence, in unofficial house churches. In 1987 the United Bible Societies were allowed to build a Bible printing press in Nanjing, which has since printed 13 million Bibles, though the need for Bibles still remains large.
One house church leader in Guangdong said, "Deng replaced Maoist ideology with a get-rich-quick philosophy, and oddly enough it has made people spiritual seekers because they ask, `Am I alive merely to buy a bigger television, or a better refrigerator?' " The church continues to grow at a furious pace. Recent estimates published by the Hong Kong-based Chinese Church Research Centre put the number of believers at more than 82 million.
An elderly house church leader in Lanzhou, central China, stressed, "We are still a persecuted church, no matter how many foreign businesses the policies of Deng may have brought here, or how many foreign religious dignitaries come and preach here as a result of his open door policy."
Alex Buchan, Compass Direct. Compass Direct is a California-based news service reporting about Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith.
Deng dismantled a stagnant communal system, promoted agricultural reform in the countryside and opened China to the outside world. These pragmatic policies led to China's tremendous economic growth.
Under Deng's more lenient policies, Christians could again meet openly for worship. A government document adopted in 1982 guaranteed citizens the right of religious belief and practice, although this policy has been unevenly implemented.
The struggling and persecuted Chinese church has grown from one million members in 1980 to at least 12 million presently, with some estimates considerably higher, up to 50 million. While Christians continue to face problems due to close government scrutiny, the government has assisted many churches in reclaiming property and in rebuilding.
In 1980, two years after Deng became China's paramount leader, Goshen (Ind.) College began an exchange program with an educational institution in China. A year later Mennonite mission agencies formed China Educational Exchange (CEE) and began sending English teachers to China and receiving Chinese visiting scholars at Mennonite colleges. Since 1981 more than 160 persons have served in China through CEE, and some 200 Chinese teachers and professors have been able to spend one year at a Mennonite college.
However, Deng could be ruthless in his policies, reflecting his desire to preserve the communist party. In Western eyes, Deng's contributions will always be tainted by his decision in 1989 to call out troops to squelch pro-democracy protests. However, CEE teachers at several universities in Sichuan, Deng's native province, report students there say that while some persons in Beijing, China's capital, will want to have this incident reviewed now that Deng is gone, generally most Chinese people "don't care".
Public expressions of grief are quite different from those some 20 years ago when Mao Zedong's death prompted an outpouring of national grief. At a mass gathering in Chengdu, Sichuan province's capital, the day after Deng's death, the mood seemed more festive than sombre. According to CEE teachers Jeanette and Todd Hanson, people were jockeying for position to take pictures with the flag flying at half-mast and wreaths.
While Deng is appreciated because of the changes he helped bring, several students in Sichuan clearly state that he was not of the same stature and greatness as Mao, China's previous leader. There will be no mausoleum for Deng, his body parts have been donated to science and his ashes will be scattered over the ocean.
The question of how Hong Kong's transition to Chinese rule will be handled in the next few years will present China's leaders with many challenges. With Deng off the scene, will pro-democracy supporters be bolder and more confrontational? Will the government feel secure enough to permit opposition, or will it force its will on the people of Hong Kong?
Sovereignty issues affect China's border areas and minority groups; Muslims in Xinjiang province and Tibetans voice strong pro-independence sentiments. China's emerging dominance in Asia is a concern for its neighbours, and China is flexing its new-found power and prestige in various international arenas.
How Beijing and Washington relate to each other will be critical not only for the two powers themselves, but for Asia as well. Recently relations between China and the United States have thawed.
However, those hoping that China will quickly develop a more open, Western-style democracy through continued interchange with the West are likely to be disappointed. Changes are happening but in a Chinese fashion and according to the culture and dictates of the Chinese, not the way of the West.
Myrrl Byler, China Educational Exchange director. China Educational Exchange is an organization of Mennonite agencies and colleges participating in North America/China exchanges.
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