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CNN Live At Daybreak
China Watches India, Pakistan, Unauthorized Religious Practice
Aired January 10, 2002 - 06:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COSTELLO: And now onto the tensions between Pakistan and India. They're being watched closely, not only by the United States and Russia, but by their neighbor, China.
CNN's Kitty Pilgrim takes a look at China's role in a possible showdown between the two nuke-packing rivals.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The official word from China to Pakistan is restraint. China has come out against terrorism, yet China has to find a delicate balance between its traditional ally, Pakistan, and a nuclear power and geopolitical rival to its south, India.
ROBERT HATHAWAY, WILSON CENTER: China is clearly playing both sides of the street. They want to retain their very close and warm relationship with Pakistan. And yet at the same time, they don't want to jeopardize a thawing relationship with India. Moreover, they don't want to be caught on the wrong side in the war against terrorism.
PILGRIM: Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir. One part is controlled by Pakistan, another by India, and yet another claimed by India but controlled by China. Both India and Pakistan have massed hundreds of thousands of troops in the region. The military buildup came after a deadly assault on India's parliament on December 13 by suspected Muslim terrorists, terrorists India says were tied to Pakistan.
The military standoff is potentially explosive. Russia, China and the United States have strenuously urged calm. Yet reports persist China has stepped up shipments of military supplies and aircraft to Pakistan in recent weeks. Elizabeth Economy is the senior fellow for China at the Council on Foreign Relations, and says despite that, China is not looking to start a war.
ELIZABETH ECONOMY, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: It has been a strong ally of Pakistan. It has a strong military relationship with Pakistan. In fact, there were reports that China recently had shipped military aircraft after the December 13 attack on India to Pakistan. But I don't think that China is interested in becoming engaged in a war.
PILGRIM: China is saying that high level officials may soon visit India to relieve tensions. There are also reports that China is quietly building its own defenses, massing troops along its southern border should any conflicts spill over into its territory. All in all, a very tense situation.
Kitty Pilgrim, CNN Financial News, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And we have another story from China, but this time it involves its relations with the United States. As CNN's Mike Chinoy reports, China wants the United States to mind its own business when it comes to a Hong Kong resident accused of smuggling Bibles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An increasingly calming site in China, packed churches, devout followers expressing their faith. It's a blessing of the Chinese government.
But this too is an increasingly common site, an underground church whose members don't recognize the communist party authority over religious matters. Now a resident of Hong Kong, Ly Kwan Chong (ph) is facing a possible death sentence in China for allegedly smuggling over 16,000 Bibles to a banned Chinese Christian group known as The Shouters, so-called because they shout their devotion to Jesus.
Sam (ph), he didn't want us to use his real name for fear of Chinese retribution, is a friend of Ly's (ph), and a member of the same church in Hong Kong.
CHINOY: "Ly (ph) knew the potential dangers," he told me, "but he felt that if he could help get Bibles to Christians in China, it was worth the risk."
In response to expressions of concern from President Bush and other U.S. officials, the Chinese government has said the case is not about Bibles, but about unofficial Christian groups Beijing describes as evil cults.
SUN YUXI, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translator): This case is not a question of shipping Bibles in the mainland at all. He used this as an excuse to ship large amounts of evil propaganda books and has broken Chinese laws. The case will be handled according to Chinese law and no other country has the right to disturb the legislative independence of China.
CHINOY: What worries the Chinese authorities is that the underground churches are strongest in China's poorest provinces, places left behind by the country's economic boom, where Beijing fears that popular discontent and unsanctioned religious activity will generate political unrest.
LU SIQING, CHINA HUMAN RIGHTS MONITOR (through translator): These religious groups have their own organizational structure, and what the Chinese government is most afraid of if powerful, independently organized activities. JEAN-PIERRE CABESTAN, FRENCH CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CHINA: It has been increasing repression of underground organizations. A number of churches have been destroyed. Our temples have been destroyed by the authorities because they were not legally constructed and more and more of these activities have been repressed.
CHINOY: Fueling Beijing's anxiety, the fact that Christians outside the mainland, like Ly Kwan Chong (ph) and his friends here in Hong Kong are providing material support for their independent minded co-religionist across the border.
(on camera): Whatever Ly Kwan Chong's (ph) ultimate fate, the social and economic ferment fueling unofficial religion in China shows no sign of abating. Neither does the government's determination to crush such activity before it becomes a serious threat to the communist party's grip on power.
Mike Chinoy, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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