Chinese youth and the meaning of life FCC team facilitates English

fastThere are now approximately

200 million young people in

China between the ages of

15 and 25, over three times

the population of the United

Kingdom. Annually, 20 million

more become teenagers, and

various studies have confirmed

that in some major Chinese cities,

single children can consume an

astonishing 50 percent of family

expenditure.

Visitors to China frequently

express that China seems to

know a great deal more about the

West than the West knows about

China. It should be no surprise

then that a recent marketing

poll revealed that a quarter of

18–24 year olds can already

communicate in at least one

foreign language.

For these reasons and many

more, this issue of FCC Newsletter explores China’s next generation,

which, in reality, is already here.

■ Chinese youth and the meaning of life

■ FCC team facilitates English in Jiangxi

■ The Papal Letter

■ Olympic snapshots

Newsletter No 55Autumn 2007

and opening to the outside world, living embodiments of China’s one-child policy.

Their parents and grandparents grew up during the days of Japanese occupation, civil war and liberation. They experienced the Great Leap Forward, people’s communes and the violence of the Cultural Revolution

In China, they call them the baling hou or ‘post-80’ generation. Sometimes they are known as the xin xin ren lei, literally the ‘new kind of people’, a Chinese Generation X, if you will. They are the youth of China today, born after the Cultural Revolution era, growing up alongside the principles of reform

China’s Generation X Ian Groves

fastforwardforward

FRIENDS OF THE CHURCH IN CHINA2

At the same time, living as only children has produced a generation of pampered, self-absorbed, even selfish young people in China today, the so-called ‘Little Emperors’ (xiao huangdi). Having had every need met for them as they grew up, many find it extremely difficult to fend for themselves, finding relatively simple tasks such as household chores or financial and time management almost impossible to master. Many also struggle to function reasonably as a respectful equal among a group of peers because they are so used to being alone and the centre of attention, getting their own way.

the price of ‘freedom’

Today’s young Chinese carry tremendous psychological burdens on their shoulders, too. As only children, all the hopes and dreams for the family’s future rest with them, and the pressure to do well at school, get a good place at university,

excel in their studies, find a well-paid job and, eventually, take responsibility for caring for two parents and possibly four grandparents can sometimes prove overwhelming. Many young people in China long for a brother or sister to ‘take the heat off them’ in the family somewhat (yet in the next breath they may say they don’t really want this because then, after all, they’d have to share their possessions and their parents’ attention with the other sibling!)

Sometimes the pressures on young people in China today all prove too much. More and more colleges and schools in China are reporting alarming increases in cases of depression, mental illness and, sadly, suicide among Chinese young people today. There is also a growing problem with teenage pregnancies and abortions, drug and

era. They suffered shortages and hunger, lived in strict uniformity and conformity with others, and knew hardly anything of the world outside of China. Their education was being sent to the countryside to work the land alongside peasant farmers or attending rallies, some as radical Red Guards. Theirs was a world of turmoil, upheaval and struggle.

A new kind of people

Fast forward to only a few years later and today’s young Chinese are truly a ‘new kind of people’ to the older generation. They go to Starbucks, KFC or McDonalds for western fast food. They call and text each other on mobile phones or communicate via instant messenger on their computers. They watch Hollywood blockbusters, sing English pop songs and read Japanese comic books. They support overseas basketball teams and wear the jerseys of European football clubs. They pore over glossy fashion magazines reading the latest gossip about their superstar idols while craving the latest fashions. They listen not to revolutionary anthems but to pop, rock, rhythm and blues and soul on their iPods and MP3 players. And they are addicted to the World Wide Web, a gateway to places, thoughts, ideas and news the likes of which their

parents couldn’t even begin to imagine when they were young. (And forget Google – a hip young Chinese will do his or her searching at Baidu.com these days, thank you very much!)

Chinese young people today, especially those in bigger cities, live lives of relative peace, stability, material comfort and economic prosperity. As only children, they are also the focus of their whole family’s attention. To some extent, this gives them a strong sense of self-worth and self-confidence and a keen desire to be individuals, to stand out and be noticed and to do their own thing – all qualities which run completely opposite to traditional Chinese values of conforming and obeying authority. Chinese young people today don’t want to obey, they want to question, to rebel, and to ask ‘why’. They have lots of dreams and ambitions and are not afraid to chase these.

And they are not so frightened by the dizzying pace of change in China today; they have grown up with this, embrace it, welcome the new, the different, and the modern, and tend to reject the old, the traditional and the ‘boring’. A couple of years ago, a group of Chinese young people were asked by a professor in Nanjing what the most important Chinese holiday was on the calendar. Their reply? ‘Christmas.’

Cheers to the future: opportunities abound for urban young adults.

❛ The young are not frightened by the pace of change in China ❜

NEWSLETTER NO 55 AUTUMN 2007 3

alcohol abuse, petty crime and anti-social behaviour. China does not yet have a well-developed support mechanism or counselling culture to help alleviate such problems, and most parents and teachers are ill-equipped to help prevent such tragedies or counsel students through them, the issues involved are simply all too alien and too new to them as well.

re-integration

Christian-related social service groups in China are concerned about their country’s youth and are taking steps to help them grow up as confident, well-rounded members of society. In Shanghai, the YMCA runs Children’s Centres where parents can bring their only child and have them interact and play with other children to learn essential social skills and how to interact with their peers in a constructive manner.

The YMCA, as well as groups like the Amity Foundation and a number of Catholic social service agencies, all run ‘service learning’ projects, whereby economically advantaged young people in China’s cities are made aware of poorer children in other parts of their own country and are encouraged to do something to help them. This might involve offering coaching to disad van-taged schoolchildren in rural areas or going to China’s countryside or western areas to help build bridges or dig wells. It could mean visiting the sick or the elderly in their local community or helping raise awareness about issues such as HIV/AIDS and environmental protection.

Such programmes are invaluable in taking young people out of themselves and instilling within them a sense of purpose, an awareness of the needs of others and their own value in being able to meet those needs in some way.

a different struggle

Indeed, most young people in China today are not as fortunate as the new generation of upwardly-mobile young adults in China’s bigger cities as described above. The majority of Chinese young people live in rural areas where

life is still incredibly harsh and where families struggle to secure even the basics of food, clean water, shelter, clothing, education or healthcare. Many Chinese young people still grow up with little or no chance of an education and engage in back-breaking work alongside their parents in the fields.

Unable to make ends meet, many rural parents even abandon their children to go and look for better prospects in the cities, and such ‘left behind’ children (liushou ertong) are then brought up by elderly relatives who can hardly cope with them, or even in some cases left to fend entirely for themselves at a very tender age. Even when rural parents take their children to the cities with them, these children cannot then attend local city schools due to their parents not being legally registered as city residents. They have to attend makeshift, poorly equipped and overcrowded migrant workers (nongmin gong) schools or else are left cooped up at home or wandering the streets while their parents go off to work.

A nation’s young people are its future, and what happens with China’s young people is of particular importance to the world in general. China is growing and developing very fast. It

already has one of the world’s largest economies and a foreign exchange reserve of over £500 billion. It is a nuclear power, has a huge army and is developing a space programme. It plays host to many important international gatherings now, not least of which will be the Olympic Games in 2008. And it is rapidly growing in stature and clout in the international community as many nations look to China as an alternative to questionable American or western dominance in the world. Within our lifetimes, China could become the world’s next superpower and have a strong influence on the future direction of this planet. And the young people of China today, this ‘new kind of people’, will be the movers and shakers and leaders of such a superpower tomorrow. It is vitally important for all of us that they grow up well-equipped and ready for this task.

Ian Groves, a former Amity teacher, went on to work in Amity’s Hongkong Office for ten years. He has recently returned to teaching English with Amity, a member of the British Irish Amity Teachers Group.

The Amity Foundation is a Chinese non-governmental social service organisation, initiated by Christians in China and based in Nanjing.

Nearly four million children in China do not attend school; most working alongside their parents to help make a living.


services in so-called house churches and small groups. Most young Catholics seem to opt for services in the open church because they find them livelier and more spiritually uplifting. More than one third of Christian youth attend a prayer group on a regular basis. ■ Search for guidance on how to be a Christian in the contemporary society. Most feel they do not know enough about their religious faith. Some even acknowledge they are not clear about what they should and should not believe in. So they seek a priest or a sister for advice and instruction. The traditional way of praying is not appealing to them. They look for something different. And second, responses revealed tensions between being a follower of Christ and coping with modern society. Their most common questions were ‘Why shall we be honest in a society where people who lie and are dishonest seem to be getting ahead?’ and ‘Why two persons should remain married if they do not have tender feelings for each other any more?’

Dr Huang Jianbo, a young sociologist who teaches part-time at the Beijing Center for Chinese Studies recently completed a nationwide survey of 5,484 students between 14 and 27, equally divided between males and females, and urban and countryside dwellers. Most young Chinese people [did] not identify themselves as religious believers, the majority have only a faint idea of what religion is. Even though 75 percent may not openly subscribe to a religion, the number of those who believe in God and in some sort of afterlife [was around] 35 percent.

What do they expect

from the Church?

From my discussions with young Christian people as well as with priests and sisters, two main constants seem to emerge.■ Search for fellowship, meaningful ways to pray and uplifting liturgy. As a whole these young Christians are very devout. Among them, young Protestants tend to prefer meetings and

Conclusions

The religious fever Western observers began to notice a decade or so ago has not diminished [and] is certainly more widespread. The ongoing economic progress and the social changes con-tinue to foster the quest for meaning of life beyond just personal success and wealth. People threatened and marginalized by that same trans-formation still turn to religion for answers. The decline of the Marxist ideology especially among young people is widespread in creating a tremendous spiritual vacuum that religion – especially Christianity with its emphasis on individual salvation – could fill. Here, however, a word of caution is appropriate against an enthusiastic forecast that predicts China becoming a Christian nation before this century is half over.

Taoism might not be very popular at the moment but superstitious practices and folk religions tainted with Taoist beliefs are on the upswing. One also should not forget that the country not only remains the largest Buddhist nation in the world, but it is also in the midst of an impressive Buddhist revival. As for Islam, it has deeply committed followers and is not likely to yield to Christianity in provinces like Gansu and Xinjiang where, for 99 percent of the non Han-Chinese population, culture, tradition, ethnic pride and Islamic faith are molded together.

Today the behavior and morals of China’s youth are ‘clean’ compared to that of Western youth. They seem, however, to have more difficulty coping with the pressures and demands from family and society. As a whole, contemporary Chinese youth are more money-oriented than the generation of June 1989, and they do not pay more than lip-service to the Communist ideology. Yet they are probably the largest sector of society searching for something to believe in; that is, for an ethical/spiritual model that would give more meaning to life than just the pursuit of material and professional achievements.

Meaning

Chinese Youth in Quest of

MeaningThe following are extracts from a paper of the same title by Dr Jean Paul Wiest, MM, delivered to the 22nd National Catholic China Conference sponsored by the United States Catholic China Bureau.


When I was deciding what to do with my last summer before graduation there were endless brochures on volunteer trips and excursions to look through. But I felt I wanted more from the experience than they could offer. I wanted to learn and see something I knew nothing about and be allowed the scope to learn it for myself. China stood out for this reason ... it seemed like the world’s best kept secret and this only made me want to know, see, feel and experience it even more. Teaching was something I had never thought about doing but it appealed to me as the best way to immerse myself in the culture and society around me. So I applied with FCC to be part of the Amity Summer English Language Programme team.

The nerves kicked in when we had our group meeting to get to know each other and I realised that I was by far the youngest in the group at the age of 21. This made me a little concerned that my lack of life experience would make me a hindrance to the group. China soon crept up on me and I was boarding a plane to what seemed like the unknown.

Arriving in Pingxiang was exciting and incredibly nerve-wracking. I had

only one moment where I felt as if I had made a mistake, and that was standing in front of the 150 teachers we were to be working with and introducing myself. The next day we started classes and I couldn’t control my shaking. Not even in sitting my most difficult of exams have I felt nerves like that! But then again, never have I felt so welcome so fast; the teachers had so much admiration for my young age and my being there. That feeling is infectious and I worked hard from that day to make all my classes as interesting as possible. This gave my trip a purpose and an element of the unknown every day. I couldn’t have been more wrong about my age as I found it added to my experience. I felt I became a window to the youthful aspects of British

society and enjoyed many of the teachers wanting to stay and talk with me.

In the four short weeks that I was in China I made deep attachments to the community and people around me. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about China, the things I experienced, the friends I made and the people I miss. I have returned to my life the way that it was before I left. However, I have returned with a fresh, new confidence to approach things head-on in the future. This is an experience I would recommend to anyone of any age if they would like to learn about a fascinating culture, meet inspiring people and learn more about themselves and their abilities.

The FCC team: Ron Ashurst, Wendy Earl, Simon Brown, Mr Xiu of Pingxiang Educational Authority, Lindsay Fyffe, Claire Nobbs and Christopher Nobbs.

Lindsay Fyffe was part of an FCC team that participated in the Amity Foundation’s Summer English Language Programme (SEP) in July, assigned to rural Pingxiang, Jiangxi province. Her reflection below bubbles with enthusiasm as she reveals the rewards of cultural exchange, and how her age brought out the unexpected.

2007Pingxiang

Why not consider being a part of the

2008 FCC SEP team? Visit Amity’s website,

www.amityfoundation.org

or contact Simon Brown, Seagulls,

Pin Mill, Chelmondiston, Ipswich,

Suffolk, IP9 1JN.

Part of the team


■ THE FIVE MASCOTS of the

Beijing Olympics, known as

the Fuwa, carry a message of

friendship and peace. Beibei

the fish, Jingjing the panda,

Huanhuan the Olympic flame,

Yingying the Tibetan antelope,

and Nini the swallow each

represent different qualities

and are linked to Chinese

symbols, conveying prosperity,

happiness, passion for sport,

health and good luck. The

designs are derived from

elements of Chinese culture,

from kites to the Dunhuang

murals. Together their names

spell out Beijing huanying ni

– Beijing welcomes you!

■ BEIJING SUBWAY’S NEW LINE 5 is ready for the Games. Unveiled in September, this is the city’s first north-south underground line. It is 27.6km long, has 23 stops, and LCD screens at each station will feature not only train schedules and weather information, but also Olympic results!

■ ZHAOYANG DISTRICT OF ZHAOTONG CITY in Yunnan province produced its own ‘big apple’ recently! A huge picture, created with 341,969 local apples, was built by 730 young volunteers, proclaiming ‘Zhaoyang apples welcome the Olympic Games!’ At 50 metres long and 30 metres wide, it broke the Guinness world record for pictures made from fruit!

Beijing prepares foGOING FOGOING FO


■ THE LOGO of the Beijing

2008 Olympics combines

traditional seal-carving and

calligraphy techniques with

sporting style and this is

replicated in the emblems for

each individual sport. On a

background of Chinese red,

the logo figure resembles the

character jing, meaning capital,

as in the host Beijing.

■ WITHIN THE OLYMPIC GAMES PORTAL on the www.china.org.cn website, a Places of Worship link has been established giving addresses, photos, times of worship, and travel directions to dozens of mosques, churches, cathedrals, and temples in Beijing. The China Christian Council has welcomed athletes and visitors to the Games to participate in regular church services, but has asked that all who attend respect the ‘three-self’ nature of the churches in China, self-support, self-government, self-evangelisation. The appeal was made in response to reports that Christian organizations were mobilizing thousands of volunteers to attend the Games and at the same time engage in covert evangelisation.

■ MANY OUTSTANDING NEW BUILDINGS are being erected in Beijing, including the Olympic stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest. It is hoped that these buildings, employing the latest energy-conservation techniques, will influence future building projects in the city and thus contribute to a greener Beijing. The vast forestation campaign being undertaken for the Games should also be a positive factor. However, pollution in the city remains a huge problem to be tackled and air quality may threaten some events.

r the Olympics

OR GOLD!OR GOLD!


In January 2007 an important meeting on the Catholic Church and China took place at the Vatican. At the end of the meeting, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would write a Pastoral Letter to the Chinese Catholics. This long-awaited Pastoral Letter, finally published on June 30, underlines the urgency of unity and opens a way for reconciliation among the country’s divided Catholic communities.

The Pope invites the Chinese bishops and the Catholic faithful to overcome ‘suspicions, mutual accusations and recriminations’ within the Church. Certainly, part of the Pope’s Letter

is aimed at the Chinese government policies that have provoked these divisions, like the registration of bishops and church communities, used as a tool for control. The Pope candidly rejects state interference in church affairs and yet he also represents that the Church’s structure and activities do not threaten the civil order. Basically the Pope offers to dialogue with the Chinese government on the chronic conflicts over bishops’ appointments, church jurisdictions and diplomatic relations.

one church

Obviously the Pope can do very little about the policies adopted by the Chinese government, but he has a much greater opportunity to help resolve internal church problems. In major part, his Pastoral Letter addresses these issues. Basically, the Pope tells the Chinese Catholics that the divisions between so-called underground and registered communities can be explained, but they compromise the church’s mission. A divided Church

cannot evangelize effectively because it is not a living witness of love and unity. For this reason, the Pope gives several practical guidelines to promote reconciliation between China’s Catholic communities.

For example, on the question of local churches’ registration with the government, the new guidelines offer more flexibility than previous Vatican statements did, in effect leaving it up to the judgment of the local bishop. On the frequent dilemma that ordinary Catholics have in China, the Pope encourages lay faithful to participate in masses and sacraments celebrated by registered bishops and priests, as long as they are in communion with Rome. Regarding the bishops ordained without papal approval, who have later sought and obtained legitimization from Rome but who have never told their own priests or faithful that they have reconciled with Rome, Benedict XVI, convinced that openness, even if it brings some risks, is presently the best strategy for the Church in China,

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CHINA

On June 30, 2007, the Vatican issued what is being called the most significant papal document regarding the Catholic Church in China in modern Chinese history: ‘Letter of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Persons and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China.’ With certainty, clarity and spiritual care the Holy See approached issues that have dogged the Catholic community in China for decades. Above all, the letter confirmed that there is one Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China and all Catholics –regardless of association or disassociation with the Catholic Patriotic Association – should strive for reconciliation. The Letter revokes all previous faculties and privileges, paving the way for all Chinese Catholics to participate in the Eucharist presided over by any clergy in communion with Rome. The following editorial encapsulation was reprinted with permission from the China Church Quarterly, Summer 2007.

Pope’s Letter

Points Toward Unity

St Peter’s Square in Rome.


tells these Chinese bishops that it is necessary to make this fact publicly known as soon as possible.

Contrary to what is sadly recurrent in the public media, the Pope’s Letter never uses the words ‘Underground Church’ and ‘Patriotic Church.’ The constant theme throughout the Papal Letter is that the Catholic Church in China is one, not two. The terminology of the Letter avoids giving rise to a schism between so-called underground church and official church.

Recalling some basic principles of ecclesiology, the Pope serenely writes that Church communion requires unity among the bishops and with the

On September 8 the Revd Paul Xiao Zejiang was ordained as co-adjutor bishop of Guiyang Diocese, Guizhou province, and on September 21, the Revd Joseph Li Shan was ordained Bishop of the Beijing Diocese, the successor to the late Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan. Both appointments had approval from Pope Benedict XVI and the Chinese government, and were the first since the historic Papal Letter was issued in June.

The Revd Xiao, 40, was the Episcopal vicar of the Guizhou Diocese which numbers about 100,000 Catholics, 25 priests, and 30 sisters. Many of the Catholic faithful are from poor farming communities. In obedience to the Pope’s call for reconciliation, and to celebrate with their brothers and sisters in the faith, the ordination attracted Catholics from communities that both associate with the Catholic Patriotic Associate, and those that do not. Leaders from both communities say they look forward to collaborating with Bishop Xiao in the future and

Pope. He also candidly rejects efforts to create an independent national Church by ‘entities desired by the state and extraneous to the structure of the Church’, such as the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.

The Pope’s Pastoral Letter encour-ages Chinese Catholics to overcome the obstacles to reconciliation within the

Chinese Catholic communities rather than letting those obstacles divide further the Church community. The Pope writes that the healing process among Catholics in China will take time, maybe years. Yet, he has pointed out the direction toward unity and helped to clear the way.

The China Church Quarterly is published by the United States Catholic China Bureau. Official translations of the Papal Letter may be found on the Vatican’s website: http://www.vatican.va/holy_ father/special_ features/chinese/index.htm

acknowledge the cooperation is, in part, the fruit of the Pope’s recent letter.

Meanwhile in celebration at the 400 year-old Nantang Cathedral in Beijing, the Revd Li Shan, 42, considered well-regarded by the Vatican, took traditional vows and also pledged to adhere to the nation’s constitution, maintain national unification and social stability. In July, the Chinese Catholic Bishop’s Conference, comprising 50 diocesan

First Ordinations

Since Papal Letter

Nantang Cathedral

priests, 20 sisters and 30 laypeople, met to choose Bishop Fu’s successor. Other priests considered were the Revds Peter Zhao Jianming, Matthew Zhen Xuibin, and Gao Yang. The Nantang Cathedral was packed with several hundred in attendance which included a wide representation of clergy, women religious, and ordinary Catholics invited by the Beijing Diocese. The Vatican acknowledged with regret that there were some bishops in the attendance who were not in communion with Rome. Of the four candidates considered for ordination, the Revd Li Shan was the only one who had not studied overseas.


to develop naturally. It is in line with ‘A Curriculum for Excellence’.

The China Education Project is available for £68.75 which includes post and packing. Cheques payable to the Scottish Churches China Group, and sent to Scottish Churches China Group, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4YN.

China Education Project is an exciting educational resource for upper primary-aged school children to explore and experience China today. Expertly researched with the assistance of the Scottish Churches China Group and compiled by experienced primary school teachers, China Education Project focuses on the lives of children around the same ages as the learners, allowing them to compare and contrast lifestyles and foster empathy with Chinese peers. The CD Rom includes background material, worksheets, primary source interviews and correspondence, which forms an outline to allow the project

One of FCC’s veteran members, Mary Sheaff, celebrated her 80th birthday with a sponsored walk on behalf of the Amity Foundation (see FCC Newsletter Autumn 2004). She has since devoted the energy of her ninth decade to writing up the story of her family’s work in Hubei and Hunan provinces between 1882 and 1949.

William Watson, a Wesleyan Methodist minister, was recruited by David Hill; his two sisters, equally inspired by Hill, overcame the reluctance of the Missionary Society to send single women to China in those troubled times and followed some time later. One of those sisters, Mary, was to marry Gilbert Warren, another Methodist minister and became Mary Sheaff’s grandmother. Gilbert Warren spent his entire ministry in China and when he died in Changsha in 1927 the unrest in the city was halted for the day of his funeral. His son Norman (briefly a classmate of Mao Zedong at Changsha Normal College) and his daughter Kathie both followed in his footsteps, Kathie serving until forced – by illness rather than by Mao – to leave in 1949.

Although Norman returned to Britain in 1927, Mary Sheaff has vivid memories of her infancy in Hunan, which flooded back many years later in

two moving visits to Changsha with FCC. But From Tortoise Hill (Orphans Press 2007) is far more than a work of filial piety. Painstakingly researched in the archives at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, it sets the family story against the back –ground of turbulent times and pays due attention not only to the missionary colleagues with whom her forebears served but also to their Chinese colleagues.

Tortoise Hill itself looks out across the Yangxi in Wuhan to Serpent Hill on the right bank. (With my own aunt’s diary in hand I have climbed them both.) It was here that in 1862 Robert Wilson of the London Missionary Society and Josiah Cox of the Wesleyan Methodist

Missionary Society looked at the bustling crowds below and gazed into the far distance. Cox was in no doubt of the need for a dedicated team to share the gospel in central China, and he could not have asked for a more dedicated team than the Watsons and Warrens.

Reviewer: John Pritchard

From Tortoise Hill is available from: Mary Sheaff58 Callington RoadSaltashPL12 6DY

It costs £7.95 + £2 post and packing. Cheques payable to M.R. Sheaff Book Account. Profits, after publishing expense, will be put toward the good work of the Amity Foundation.

AROUND AND ABOUT

Explore China

with Children

Book Review:

From Tortoise

Hill


AIDS. Ms Li, who also lost family to complications from AIDS, was severely burnt when the illegal fireworks factory in which she worked suddenly ignited. Each decided to buy some goats which they raise for milk, breeding, and selling at the local market. Women are the primary beneficiary of Amity’s micro-finance projects, in this case organised with the Zhoukou Christian Council in Henan province. The responsibility involved in devising and implementing a small project increases self-esteem and contributes to the family income. Ms Gao explains why she chose goats. ‘They’re easy to raise and easy to feed. I can sell one and have enough to buy rice to plant for harvest.’

the free distribution of more than 3,000 Bibles to members of unregistered churches. He said that in the past, house church members used to oppose those belonging to the CCC/TSPM network.

Today, there is much less antagonism and church personnel can work in both registered and unregistered churches. According to the Revd Tang, ‘We have reached a common ground.’ As proof of this significant change in attitude, he refers to the Internet where there is, in his opinion, a decrease in hostility and opposition to the Henan Christian Council. Groups of house churches may still maintain their disagreements with the CCC/TSPM but they do not actively oppose the churches that are its members. There are increasing indications that Christians from unregistered churches are seeking and receiving theological education in registered seminaries and Bible schools in some provinces.

From Amity News Service 2007.4-6.4. The CCC/TSPM is the China Christian Council / Protestant Three-self Patriotic Committee Movement.

Raising goats

Diane Allen, visiting Henan province this Spring with Amity, encountered one of Amity’s small-scale projects.

Ms Li and Old Gao, a term of respect in Chinese culture, raise goats. Both women applied for and received a small, 150 yuan (£8.50) micro-credit loan which opened the door to a future and a hope for them both. Gao, in her 60s, lost her husband and two sons to

FOCUS ON …

henan

Common Ground

Dr Theresa Carino, of the Amity Hongkong Office, describes positive changes on the ground in Henan province.

In Henan, where there is probably the largest number of unregistered churches, the Henan Christian Council has been reaching out to the members of house churches. According to the Revd Tang Weimin, president of the Henan Christian Council, most of the unregistered churches are located in southern Henan, in the Nanyang area. In recent years, the council has made an effort to contact them and he believes they have moved from a situation of misunderstanding to understanding. One illustration of this effort has been

h e n a n F a c t s

HENAN PROVINCE

■ has a population of 98 million, 75

percent of whom live in rural areas

■ has the highest numbers of Christians in

any province

■ is high in the west and low in the east,

crossed by four great rivers

■ is China’s leader in grain output, and an

important coal producer

■ is the home of three of the ‘big four’

inventions: the compass, gunpowder and

paper-making

■ is home to the Shaolin Temple, famous

for martial arts, and the impressive

Buddhist carvings of the Longmen

Grottoes

The orphans that FCC supports through

the Amity Foundation are located in

villages in rural Henan. FCC currently

assists 40 orphans, mostly of junior

school age, many of whom live with

grandparents who have little income.

Rural orphans

Henan’s Shaolin Temple.


Address your cheques correctlyWhen you renew your membership or give towards an FCC project like Amity’s rural orphan fund, please remember that cheques should be made payable to: Friends of the Church in China. This helps ensure a timely transaction.

FCC assists Jinde Charity and AmityAn overwhelming rainstorm hit most parts of the southern Yangtze River in southwest China leaving hundreds dead and affecting the lives and livelihood of another 31 million people in Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Guangdong provinces. Just weeks before, a serious earthquake left thousands homeless in the Ning’er county, Yunnan. Jinde Charities Foundation located in the Shijiazhuang Catholic Diocese and the Amity Foundation, initiated by Protestant Christians – both non-governmental social service

FCC news2008 FCC ConferenceWe have once again booked Ushaw College Conference Centre, Durham, for the FCC Conference, held 20–22 June 2008. The Conference will focus on important contemporary issues and questions that challenge both China’s younger generation and us all. Details will be sent nearer the time. Meanwhile, mark your diaries, and share news of this Conference with your friends, work colleagues and church family.

Amity teachers for 2007-2008After a very successful Amity Teachers orientation in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, 37 teachers set off across the country for their respective schools. Nearly 25 percent of Amity teachers are sent through the British Irish Amity Teachers Group. They are:Anne and Mick Kavanagh – Hezuo, GansuChristine Green – Wuwei, GansuAngela Evans – Dingxi, GansuDavid Clements – Lanzhou, GansuKate Jarman – Hechi, GuangxiKath Saltwell – Gaise, GuangxiGordon Paterson, accompanied by his wife, Mary – Luizhou, Guangxi.Ian Groves is beginning a one year Masters degree in TESOL at York University, before returning to China in August 2008.

The BIATG is faced with increasing interest in teaching with Amity, but falling sponsorship. If you or your church community would like to contribute to the support of an Amity teacher, you may send your contribution to Friends of the Church in China, earmarked for Amity teacher support.

FCC contactsChair: Revd Simon Brown

Vice Chair: Alison Lewis

Treasurer: Walter Houston

Secretary: Jean Gronset

17 Rosetrees, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 2HS

Email: [email protected]

Membership Secretary: Ann Bagnall

(for all membership matters and changes of address)

74 Redford Loan, Edinburgh, EH13 0AT

CTBI China Desk: Caroline Fielder

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, Bastille Court,

2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND. Tel: 020 7654 7234

FCC website: www.thefcc.org

Editorial Team: Diane Allen, Jean Gronset, Bill Marshall,

Maggi Whyte

Design: Wingfinger Graphics

The FCC Newsletter is

publish ed twice a year and

sent to all members.

Membership costs £15 per year

(£10 unwaged). For further

details, and information about

the organisation, please contact

the Membership Secretary

(address above).

Register Charity no 1004221

organisations in China – were quick to mobilise relief efforts with emergency tents and help in rebuilding schools and securing fresh drinking water. The FCC contributed £500 to each organisation’s relief work efforts, which remains on -going.

A membership to the FCC is a wonderful

Christmas gift to give a family member

or friend. The FCC produces a twice-

yearly newsletter, hosts Chinese visitors,

engages in Study Visits to China, hosts

conferences and annual meetings, is an

ever-ready resource, and contributes to

friendships, understanding and mutual

exchange between Christians in China

and Britain. Membership remains just £15

per year, details available on this page.

A Christmas gift with a difference

Chinese youth and the meaning of life FCC team facilitates English

Documents

Transcript of Chinese youth and the meaning of life FCC team facilitates English