When Bush attended the Sunday service at the Gangwasi (Gang Wa Si) Church on Nov. 20, it seemed to be big news. The Chinese media were saying that Bush’s visit showed to the world that the accusation of some westerners that China is a country that lacks religious freedom is totally nonsense. The western and overseas Chinese media, however, believed that Bush might have done it for the purpose of gently reminding the Chinese government that China needs more religious freedom.
What the Chinese media conveniently ignored is the fact that Bush did say “My hope is that the government of China will not fear Christians who gather to worship openly”. The Washington Post believed that Bush was there and did that “to send a message about free expression of faith in a country that harshly smothers it”. Bush’s aides said that “[t]he president has been offended by the recent harassment of religious people trying to practice their faith without state approval at underground churches”. The freedom of faith may be taken for granted for people in the U. S. and in Europe, but it is still a very “sensitive” topic in China (so we can forget about seeing it on the official media) and “religious freedom” or “freedom of faith” is often among those “filtered” words on China’s Internet.
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