Hello all! I’ve enjoyed getting various comments and questions from some of you about my new blog. Internet technology definitely has its advantages. Well, I’m still on the Xu Zhiyong watch of internet sources. Not much happening, aside from this tasty treat from the Far Eastern Economic Review:

“In a year that’s seen the arbitrary detentions of Chinese legal activists and government critics like Gao Zhisheng and Liu Xiaobo, the Aug. 23 release of Xu Zhiyong, the head of the Open Constitution Initiative (Gongmeng), should be cause for celebration. There is of course profound relief that Mr. Xu has emerged from custody physically unscathed and after only a few weeks in detention—unlike Mr. Gao, whom we believe, based on his writings about his past detentions, has probably been tortured, or Mr. Liu, who is now in his second decade of being politically persecuted for his activism. But there are few other reasons to celebrate. Even after the release of Mr. Xu, the larger picture is one of Chinese government assault on the rule of law and civil society.”

The Chinese government assault on the rule of law and civil society…… It sure seems that way, which is a complete 180 degree turn from where it seemed they were going. This Sunday I’m leaving for my next China trip and I’m really looking forward to talking with Chinese people in Beijing about Xu and get their opinions. As I get the ‘on the ground’ perspective, I’ll be sure to post the findings here on the blog.

In the meantime, I’m getting so excited about this China Trip. Back in China, among good friends, great (real) Chinese food and the distribution of 5000 Bibles, impacting 25,000 Chinese for Christ. Then I’m off to Singapore, which I’ve never been to before. I’ve got several meetings with sending agencies based there who are interested in using my book. I also have two dear American friends there and their families, so It’ll be great to reconnect with them.

So stay tuned, as I plan to blog quite a bit while on my trip!

Hello to All! Sorry for the delay in my posts….. I’ve been trying to absorb some of what I’ve been reading about Xu Zhiyong, my favorite topic on my blog. As many of you now know, he’s been released from custody, but is unsure if he’ll still be charged with tax evasion. If you are reading this post and haven’t read my others, please take a bit of time to read the other posts about Xu, just to catch yourself up with the situation. It does seem clearer now that Xu’s Open Constitution Initiative (OCI) was closed down according to the laws on the books, although that doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with it being closed down. When OCI was closed down, Beijing officials shut it down for providing ‘false data’ when registered as a company and for having public interest activities inconsistent with its commercial enterprise designation. Under Chinese regulations law, all civil society organizations must be supervised by a high-level government unit, an arrangement that effectively puts them under direct government control. The only way to operate independently is to register as a commercial company. Therefore, this judicial harassment followed the registration as a for-profit company of OCI despite the public-interest nature of its work.

I think the bigger story here with Xu Zhiyong is what I believe Xu and OCI represent and the change they can and will affect in China. The first area of change is that of NGO’s in China and their tenuous nature in China. The fact that OCI was registered with the Beijing government as a privately-held company and not a NGO indicates to me how hard it is to actually register as an NGO. A group like OCI doesn’t want to be subject to direct governmental control, just like I don’t either with my NGO. Xu Zhiyong was doing good work in China and when he registered OCI, I’m sure that he was looking for a loophole to do that work. The second important item here is that Xu was not doing anything in his work that directly challenged the government and their hold on power. This should be a model for future public interest workers in China. In addition to this, Xu was working very hard to work within current Chinese law and the guidelines of the Chinese constitution. I believe his release is an indication that there are many within the National Government who like the work that Xu is doing and believe that this is just the type of guy China needs. The fact that he was detained and released, both without comment from the Chinese government, indicates to me that there’s one heck of a power struggle going on behind closed doors in Beijing.

So for now, we celebrate his release, offer our help and support to the Chinese Government where needed and continue to love China and the Chinese people with our words and our actions.