I just saw two very interesting programs on CCTV9, China’s International English station. Like the rest of the Chinese media, this station is owned and controlled by the government … as a result, the programming is usually quite politically correct and biased towards China’s “world dominance”. These two programs, however, went against the grain … speaking of some “unspoken” issues in China and even criticizing the culture and messy history.

In the first program, Dialogue, a commentator was criticizing the corruption and bribery that is common in this country (video). He compared China to the rest of the “developed world”, where he said that bribery of any sort, whether it be $10 or $1000, is considered a crime and is looked down upon by society. In China, though, he claimed that corruption is just a way of life. It is common, widespread, and accepted not only with leaders and rich people, but also among common people. Finally, this commentator bravely claimed that this must change as China moves ahead in the global community. Now that would be sweet.

The program was followed by another called Rediscovering China: The Churches of China (transcript, video). In the program, an American reporter named Laurel Bennett highlighted some interesting architectural and historical tidbits:

• According to legend, the Apostle Thomas took the gospel first to India then in 61 A.D. (shortly after Jesus’s death and resurrection) to Xi’an, the ancient capital of China (where I visited last week).
• A missionary named Olopen came to Xi’an in 635 A.D. to spread Christianity … his visit is recorded on an ancient stone tablet.
• Christianity mostly disappeared at the end of the Tang dynasty because the Han chinese supressed the minority cultures who practiced it with some pretty extreme intolerance.
• The famous Yuan dynasty conqueror Khubilai Khan’s mother was a Christian … he even ordered a mass to be held for her funeral (in the 13th century).
• In 1601, after 18 years of living in China, an Italian priest finally met the emperor and told him about Jesus. He brought many gifts, including a clock that kept breaking (and could only be fixed by the priest). His persistance eventually won him the ability to build Beijing’s first church. Now there are four churches surrounding the emperor’s palace … north, south, east, and west.
• The earliest work of western architects in China were all churches. Shanghai’s St. Ignatius, a massive church that seats 2,500, was the first completely western building in China. It was built in 1910 in the shape of a cross.
• Since then, most churches in China have been built, destroyed by fire, rebuilt, knocked down by national disaster, rebuilt again, destroyed by war, rebuilt again, invaded by the Boxers, and rebuilt yet again. Many that have been built in recent days, especially during the cultural revolution, were disguised as homes and built with traditional Chinese facades, covering domes with pagodas and courtyards with Chinese gardens.
• The program also claimed that although few new churches are being built in China, Christianity is growing exponentially among both foreigners and Chinese citizens. It ended with this statement: “Jesus told Apostle John, ‘Write the things you’ve seen, the things which are and the things that will take place after this.’ The message of Jesus Christ has truly been to the end of the earth, as these words have been inscribed on the walls of the churches on the oriental nation as well.”

I’m a little confused. Is this the free speech of a few selected journalists, or is it just a clever attempt by the government to remain in control of some impending national dialogues? Sometimes it’s hard to tell how intentional or organized things like this are in this chaotic but tightly monitored country.

Either way, it’s just refreshing to hear some honesty, truth, and tolerance!

Posted to webeldotnet on Monday, January 15th, 2007 at 2:10 pm EST in Faith & China & Media (comment feed). If you refer to this post on your blog, please trackback. Thanks!