A leading American Christian evangelist who joined
US President George W. Bush at a church service in Beijing
yesterday morning told China Daily the previous day that he
thought Chinese people enjoy more religious freedom than people
overseas imagine.
"It is growing all over China," said Luis Palau,
who completes his one-week trip to China today. "I myself have
total freedom to speak at every church and every gathering in
China. Nobody told me what to say and what not to say."
Palau, 71, said people who practice Christianity
within the law "enjoy great opportunities to worship openly to sing
and to teach the Bible."
Bookstores in China openly sell the Bible and other
Christian books, he said, adding "this is very exciting for
me."
Beijing has two new churches, the Shanghai
municipal government has rebuilt a theatre into a house of worship
and in Nanjing a theological seminary is being built, which will be
the biggest of its kind in China, said Palau.
He urged unregistered churches in China to register
with the government. "I encourage them to be registered to have
more freedom and opportunities to enjoy the protection and blessing
of the government."
Palau has evangelized to an estimated 20 million
people in 70 nations. His radio broadcasts in English and Spanish
are heard by millions more on over 2,100 radio stations in 48
countries.
On September 16, Palau was invited by the White
House to give a special prayer at Washington National Cathedral as
part of ceremonies for the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance
for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
In 2004, he led a delegation of US business
leaders, athletes and musicians to China focusing on US and Chinese
adoption procedures and communication between their business
communities.
(China Daily November 21, 2005)