As the People’s Republic of China looks to 2008 and its staging of the Summer Olympics, no one will be surprised to learn that sports committees and construction crews aren’t the only ones with lots to do. It appears that State Security is not going to allow any skunks to get in and ruin the party. According to the Christian Post:
China’s intelligence is reportedly compiling a list of potential troublemakers at next year’s Olympic Games in Beijing that includes human rights activists, non-governmental organizations, and evangelical Christians.
Government spy agencies and think tanks say that Christians threaten to mount demonstrations against China’s religious freedom violations, while activists could stage protests demanding Beijing to use its oil-buying leverage with Sudan to end the Darfur genocide, according to The Associated Press.
With the Olympic price tag at $40 billion and China’s public image on the line, the Chinese government is leaving no room for foreign protestors to spoil China’s moment in the spotlight.
They definitely don’t want to allow free speech while the whole world is watching. That would be a sure-fire reputation-killer. And heaven forbid anyone should take to the streets and suggest that China end its implicit and lucrative support of genocide in northeastern Africa–after all, what would the Sudanese government do without China’s money and Security Council veto? And Christians? Geez, you never know what they might do if you let them loose in the streets.
Meanwhile, other Christian mission groups around the world have said they plan to evangelize at the Beijing Games despite China’s ban on foreign missionaries.
Due to security concerns, some Christian organizers cannot reveal details of their plans, but some have said they plan to put on cultural and sports events – which China allows – and use them to share about their faith, according to AP.
The Southern Baptists, for example, will bring thousands of volunteers for humanitarian work, sports clinics, first aid sites and other projects.
Furthermore, Youth With A Mission (YWAM) – an international Christian ministry well-known for its Olympic outreaches – is planning a “2008 Olympics Discipleship Training School” in Brazil next year, after which it will send volunteers to the games.
“With a draw like the Olympics, we just pray our ‘forces’ will be so large that we will be able to form many relationships,” said Mark Taylor of Awaken Generation, a ministry for college-age Christians. The Fla.-based group plans to send evangelism teams of eight to 12 people around China during the competition.
I wish them well in their efforts, and hope they wear the suspicions of the Chinese intelligence services as a badge of honor.
