“I lived in China for many years. The society there is basically as free as the US.”
Tell that to the Christians in Red China who are being persecuted.
P.S. After that statement, how can anyone believe ANYTHING you say????
I’ve actually been to church in China. Both a “house church” and a “3-Self” church. I have a friend who resigned his job in the CCP after his conversion and started a new church 3-Self church in his neighborhood. I know what people give up. I also know the PRC does not directly interfere with the doctrine of the Protestant 3-Self churches and hasn’t since the Cultural revolution. In my experience the persecution comes not so much from the Central government as it does the local cadres because the local churches attempt to make them uphold the law.
Churches are no more persecuted than other groups that want an accountable government.
There are restriction, no doubt and I did not say there were not problems but only that over all the society there is about as free as the US. The big problem Christians face in China is that they do not bow to the corruption of the state. You can’t ever get to the front of the line for a building permit without it so they can never get a building.
The largest issue is to get China to follow its constitution.
I feel I was freer to present Christian ideas in the classes in a Chinese university than I was at the University of Guam so long as it was identifiable relevant to the curriculum.