August 28, 2015
The Rev. Philip Woo, who leads a Protestant church in Hong Kong, said he was reprimanded for his religious activities.
Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times
HONG KONG — For years, the Rev. Philip Woo, the feisty leader of a small Protestant church here, has delighted in testing the limits of China’s restrictive laws on religion. From his perch in Hong Kong, he has delivered fiery sermons on human rights, led seminars on social problems for mainland students, and ordained pastors in the mainland without permission from the ruling Communist Party.
But Mr. Woo, a longtime Hong Kong resident, was startled when he was summoned across the border recently for a meeting with officials from the State Administration for Religious Affairs. Over tea, he said, the officials rattled off a list of laws they said he had violated, and they ordered him to stop.
Hong Kong’s vibrant Christian community has long been a magnet for mainland Chinese visitors. Tens of thousands of people cross the border each year for Sunday school, seminars and megachurch gatherings in this former British colony, which enjoys greater freedoms, including religious liberties, than the mainland.
But as the government of President Xi Jinping has stepped up efforts to limit the influence of Christianity in the mainland, including a controversial campaign to take down crosses in parts of eastern China, the activities of some of Hong Kong’s churches have come under official scrutiny. The attention from Beijing has raised concerns here about encroachment on Hong Kong’s autonomy and prompted criticism from the city’s Christians.
“We thought China was more welcoming to religion,” Mr. Woo, 61, said. “Now we fear it is getting tighter.”
In recent months, Chinese officials have barred mainland residents from attending some religious conferences in Hong Kong, increased oversight of mainland programs run by Hong Kong pastors, and issued warnings to outspoken leaders like Mr. Woo.
“Many pastors are worried,” said the Rev. Wu Chi-wai, executive director of Hong Kong Church Renewal Movement, a Christian group. “Some are reconsidering their work in the mainland.”
As a spiritual revival has swept through China in recent decades, the Communist Party, which is officially atheist, has generally grown more tolerant of people exercising their faith outside party-controlled churches and temples. Christianity is China’s fastest-growing religion, with at least 67 million followers, many of whom worship in independent, underground or unofficial churches, often with the acquiescence of the government.
But Mr. Xi has presided over a crackdown on civil society, with a focus on individuals and organizations with ties to foreigners, including lawyers, nonprofit groups and religious leaders. The party has long associated Christianity with subversive Western values, and over the past year, officials have accelerated efforts to demolish churches, shutter Christian schools, and remove crosses.
Chinese leaders have historically shown greater lenience toward Hong Kong, which was a hub for Christian missionaries under British rule. It is now home to about 850,000 Christians, 1,500 churches, a Christian newspaper and a Baptist university.
But during the pro-democracy protests last year known as the Umbrella Revolution, the party signaled its anxiety over the influence of Christians here who bring their teachings to mainland China. Pro-Beijing news outlets have pointed out that several leaders of the demonstrations were Christians.
“We believe in Jesus, and that is not a violation of the law,” said Lu Jingxiang, a pastor from Anhui Province, in eastern China, who said he was told his travel documents could not be processed.
About 60 percent of Hong Kong’s churches were engaged in work in mainland China such as theological training last year, according to a survey by Hong Kong Church Renewal Movement. But spreading the gospel in the mainland can be difficult. Hong Kong residents are often treated as foreigners, and they are not permitted to establish churches, hand out pamphlets, proselytize or preach.
While provocative pastors like Mr. Woo have sought to challenge the laws in recent years, several leaders of large churches in Hong Kong said they adhered to the restrictions in the mainland. “We go to China to show care to our motherland,” said the Rev. Ho Kwok-tim, who leads Hong Kong New Life Church. “We are definitely not going to do anything that is in conflict with the country or the regime.”
The Rev. John Qian, a former pastor in Hong Kong who helps run religious charity programs in mainland China, said the authorities there had begun to more closely monitor his work over the past year. The police have told him he must notify them when he visits a mainland church, he said. And this year, when he ordered nametags and vests for a conference in Hong Kong, the mainland worker who handled the order was detained and the materials were confiscated, he said.
“This is an infringement on Hong Kong’s freedom and undermines ‘one country, two systems,’ ” Mr. Qian said, referring to the term used to describe the relationship between China and Hong Kong.
When Mr. Woo was called to the State Administration for Religious Affairs across the border in the city of Shenzhen last month, the authorities seemed most bothered by his aggressive use of social media to recruit mainland students for his seminars. He was also told to stop training mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong, he said.
