Had a wonderful time with the officials of SARA yesterday. They were warm, fun, wise, and quite hospitable. They do their job with excellence. I am grateful for their welcome and counsel they provided regarding working relationships in mainland China.
I received a copy of the Olympic Bible from Director Ye. Ms.Guo Wei, who was a warm hostess for our time. Their building is a memorable historic site. It was the birthplace of the Last Emperor. Situated on a lakeside and marvelously rennovated. A wonderful site to receive guests.
One fascinating observation are the words at the entrance. My interpreter pointed out that it says, "religious and minority affairs."
This reminds me of what I was told 10 years ago by SARA officials, "Religionists are a minority in China." Therefore, they require some attention by the government in order to assure their rights are protected.
This was a new concept for someone from the USA where religion is normal. Most everyone I know in the USA is religious. We are the majority.
I suspect each of you reading this has an opinion of your own as to the implications of this observation and I will leave that to you to sort out. But it is interesting.
Years ago most people in Europe were religious. Not so today. Will this happen in the USA? Will those who believe in God become a minority? Hmmmm....
One encouraging word from our visit. A ranking official mentioned that when she begain with SARA most people viewed people who were religious as somewhat strange. Today, she said, not so much. People in China who worship God are not thought to peculiar. They are respected as being academic and intelligent. Progress I think.
See you back home.
I received a copy of the Olympic Bible from Director Ye. Ms.Guo Wei, who was a warm hostess for our time. Their building is a memorable historic site. It was the birthplace of the Last Emperor. Situated on a lakeside and marvelously rennovated. A wonderful site to receive guests.
One fascinating observation are the words at the entrance. My interpreter pointed out that it says, "religious and minority affairs."
This reminds me of what I was told 10 years ago by SARA officials, "Religionists are a minority in China." Therefore, they require some attention by the government in order to assure their rights are protected.
This was a new concept for someone from the USA where religion is normal. Most everyone I know in the USA is religious. We are the majority.
I suspect each of you reading this has an opinion of your own as to the implications of this observation and I will leave that to you to sort out. But it is interesting.
Years ago most people in Europe were religious. Not so today. Will this happen in the USA? Will those who believe in God become a minority? Hmmmm....
One encouraging word from our visit. A ranking official mentioned that when she begain with SARA most people viewed people who were religious as somewhat strange. Today, she said, not so much. People in China who worship God are not thought to peculiar. They are respected as being academic and intelligent. Progress I think.
See you back home.
