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A Chinese Bible

BEIJING (CNN) -- While President Clinton urges his Chinese counterpart this week to combat human-rights abuses in that country, some of China's citizens are appealing to a higher power to meet their needs.

A small but growing number of Chinese -- fewer than 1 percent of the population -- have eschewed traditional Eastern religions, such as Buddhism, and turned to Christianity.

"Where I come from, more and more people are believing in God," seminary student Yan Shijun says. "In this day and age, people need more than material things. They need God and they need Jesus."

But can religion and communism peacefully coexist?

Even though China's government began tolerating religion 20 years ago, there are restrictions.

About 10 million Chinese Christians worship in government-approved churches, whose ministers are required to pledge their loyalty to the Communist Party.

Churchgoers and ministers who fail to join China's government-controlled "patriotic" religious organizations must go underground.

"The official church just didn't fulfill my spiritual needs," one believer explains.

Many Chinese Christians worship in homes

As many as 15 million Christians throughout China are believed to be worshipping in secret.

China's religious affairs bureau refuses to legalize pastor Chen Wenjun's church, which he runs out of a home in coastal Qingdao. Chen's services have been raided by police, and his followers taken in for questioning.

"They don't want to see people believing that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior," Chen says. "They want us to accept a superficial faith. They don't want us to follow the Bible and spread the gospel to all people under heaven."

But members of his flock say they have no doubts about their choice to remain in the circle of believers outside the sanctioned churches.

"People who believe in Jesus and God should really love one another," a parishioner says. That rarely happens at the official churches."

Related stories:

• Clinton, Jiang debate human rights on TV - June 27, 1998
• Clinton arrives in Beijing for summit - June 26, 1998
• Clinton calls reports of dissident arrests 'disturbing' - June 26, 1998
• Extravagant welcome for Clinton in Xian - June 25, 1998

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