Despite our requests to the Justice Ministry, not a single religious prisoner was released during our visit. From his vantage point, asking about religious freedom is viewed as a political, not a religious, issue. I told another political officer a story. The government has long assumed that the motive of the Christian church is actually political dissent. But most Chinese Christians simply want to practice their faith in peace.
Old attitudes die hard.
Nobody said building spiritual bridges would be easy. A crowded state-run department store, shoulder to shoulder with people, is a good way to get lost. It's also a good way to lose anyone following you. In the back of a noisy restaurant, we sat down with a pastor and his wife. They were nervous even to meet with us, but they ordered a cup of soup and began to tell their story.