Beijing Curbs Religious Rights

"It would mean more if Beijing residents are able to access the Bible and other religious literature in a public bookstore, and if Chinese citizens could choose their places of worship without being afraid of harassment, being arrested or sent to labor camps," added Fu, who said Bush's appeal to Chinese officials on religious freedom and human rights was mostly for the benefit of his domestic critics.

One of Fu's recommended destinations for Bush was the Shou Wang house church in western Beijing, where 600 to 700 people attend three services each Sunday. Worshipers ride an elevator to the eighth floor of a commercial office building, take seats in a nondescript room with a piano and a simple brown cross, and begin with a hymn.

"I don't care if this is a legal church or an illegal one," said Kong Hong, 27, a guitar player sporting a tattoo and a ponytail who said he had learned about Shou Wang from a friend.

"In China, there are so many things the government doesn't allow. But that doesn't mean that everything banned is bad," Kong said, admiring the choir. "Everyone should ask themselves what they truly believe in. We're all adults. We have the ability to decide what we believe in, to judge what is right or wrong. People won't listen just because the government says so."

In May, representatives from the Office of Nationality, Religion and Overseas Chinese Affairs showed up at Shou Wang, announced that the service was an illegal assembly and took down worshipers' names, employers and cellphone numbers, a church leader said. Shortly afterward, church members received phone calls from both religious officials and their state-controlled work units ordering them to stop attending the church. Most refused.

"In a way, it's a kind of progress that we are still able to operate," said Yuan Ling, one congregant. "It shows that the government is worried about its international image."

Officials object to unsanctioned proselytizing and are worried about contact between house churches and Western religious leaders. Several Western evangelists and church leaders have been denied visas in the last month or two, activists said. House church members in Beijing say they have been pressured by the government to avoid talking with foreign reporters.

Yu Jie, who became a dissident in 1989 and is a member of a 30-person house church, said the efforts of the crackdown has been limited for large churches.

"For some big house churches in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, the government might not push too hard because they're afraid of a backlash or creating an influential news story," Yu said. "But for small house churches, including many in the countryside, the crackdown is very serious."

Shou Wang has not been the only target. Several Beijing seminaries have been shuttered on the grounds that they were not registered with the Three-Self Church, activists said.

At another large house church called the Gospel Church, officials recently detained and questioned one of its leaders, Gao Zhen. In June, police tried to break up a meeting of the Maizi house church but got the location wrong. That night, worshipers at Maizi split into eight different groups to avoid detection. They now gather in various apartments.

Another church known as City Revival was shut down; one of its leaders was arrested in early May and released in June.

"An important reason for the crackdown is the Olympics. This year, Chinese leaders face more pressure from outside groups, house churches and even ordinary individual citizens," said Fan Yafeng, a law professor at the Institute of Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a leader of the 80-member Sina house church. "The Public Security Bureau always misuses its power. . . . They have lost their humanity."

"In the Olympic Village, you can find religious freedom. Maybe some foreigners can worship," Fan said. "But I tell you, the real crisis in China now is that there are no reformers left. The power struggle among the leadership is for power, not reform. To have real political reform, they would lose their power."

Researcher Zhang Jie contributed to this report.