Open Doors official: China's human rights record showing some improvement
by Allie Martin
February 16, 2007
(OneNewsNow.com) - - An official with Open Doors, an international ministry that serves the persecuted Church, says it's surprising that Communist China is no longer ranked in the top 10 among nations where Christians face the most severe treatment. But while China has fallen a little further down the list, he says life is still difficult for believers in many parts of China.Recently, Open Doors released its "World Watch List," a ranking of the world's 50 worst persecutors of Christians. Last year, the Republic of China was number 10 on the list; but this year, the communist country fell to 12th place.
Paul Estabrooks, minister at large for Open Doors, says some parts of China are seeing an improvement. "China is a really difficult country to talk about in terms of persecution," he notes, "because, as one China watcher has said, everything you say about China is true somewhere and false somewhere else.
"You have situations in certain villages and rural areas where there is very severe persecution," Estabrooks explains. "And yet in the major cities of China, you wouldn't see any at all, to speak of," he says.
So, even though there are some parts of China where Christians still face intense persecution for their faith, the Open Doors spokesman points out, he believes officials in the communist nation are trying to repair its image. "They know that the world is watching them on this issue," he says.
China has been a Christian-persecuting country for years, Estabrooks adds. "Various countries are constantly challenging them on human rights issues," he says.
North Korea tops the Open Doors "World Watch List" this year. Other countries listed among the top 10 worst persecutors of Christians include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, Vietnam, Laos and Afghanistan.
