ASIA HILLTRIBE CHURCH

LUANG PRABANG, Laos

The West is well aware of the brutality of communist China. Issues like forced abortion and sterilization, forced organ harvesting of prisoners, Protestant and Catholic priests in gulags (sometimes working to make toys and machine tools while standing in vats of acid), the rape of Tibet, the gendercide against female babies as old as two years of age -- most of these atrocities have made headlines worldwide. Add to that the bullying of Taiwan, the export to the West of massive amounts of heroin, and even the threatened launch of nuclear weapons against the U.S., and Americans have much to be concerned about with respect to China. Yet, there is one more chapter in the China book the West has not yet seen. According to Western diplomats based in Laos, Communist China controls, orchestrates and directs the crackdown against Christians in Stalinist Laos, in Vietnam, in Burma -- indeed, throughout most if not all of Southeast Asia. China directs the ongoing genocide against the Hmong hill tribes of Laos and Vietnam (known as "Montagnards" in Vietnam -- the French word for "Mountain people"), according to the sources. Additionally, China is reportedly arming the fascist Burmese regime in its genocidal campaign against the Christian Karen hill tribes of eastern Burma. As first reported by WorldNetDaily, the Vietnamese Montagnards must trek over a thousand kilometers to escape the machine guns of the communist Vietnamese government. These Montagnards are ethnic Hmong hill tribes who are currently turning to Christianity in droves. Last week, U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen traveled to Vietnam in an effort to seek "engagement" with its military, which almost exclusively controls the Vietnamese economy. Not unexpectedly, Cohen said nothing in defense of the persecuted Christian Hmong of Vietnam. Much to the chagrin of the Clinton administration, the U.S. has virtually no influence in the Indochina region -- better known these days as the "Greater Mekong Subregion." One of the last unspoiled, natural habitats on earth, the region is currently being carved up by Japan, China and the European Union while America sits on the sideline.

"In the past, America bravely fought against communism in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Today, the Marxists and communists in those nations are still in power and are consolidating that power," said Ray Billingsly, a former British SAS officer who served in Cambodia. "It's ironic that the pro-communist Vietnamese types like Clinton have their hands tied now when it comes to influencing Indochina. Europe, China and Japan never opposed communism in Southeast Asia, and thus they are welcomed by the communist nations as economic partners." In Stalinist Laos, the ethnic Hmong hill tribes have suffered a horrendous genocide at the hands of the ruling Pathet Lao government. This genocide, which continues to this day unabated, includes the use of Russian-made and exported biochemical weapons, forced repatriation of Christian Hmong from refugee camps in neighboring Thailand, and the imprisonment of Hmong citizens engaging in simple Bible studies. Reminiscent of past genocidal nightmares, the Pathet Lao have bashed the heads of Hmong babies against trees, impaled women and thrown them off high cliffs and other horrible acts too terrible to recount. Incredibly, all of this has happened under the nose of the United Nations and the U.S. State Department, which deny the existence of these documented atrocities. China's crackdown begins "I first noticed China's involvement in controlling dissent in Laos after the U.S. bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in April of 1999," said a Western diplomat in a secret interview with WorldNetDaily. The diplomat asked that his name not be used, in fear that it would hinder his ability to help persecuted Laotian Christians in the future. "About 1,500 Laotians protested the bombing in front of the U.S. Embassy here in Vientiane. The Pathet Lao ordered a media blackout of the event, at the request of the Chinese government. You would think that China would be happy about the protest. But they weren't.

The Chinese thought it might be a stamp of approval for all sorts of public expression. That would destabilize their puppet regime here in Laos." The diplomat then explained the next massive crackdown, which occurred on October 26, 1999. During WorldNetDaily's first investigative journalism trip to Laos, this reporter, along with other foreigners in Laos, witnessed a grand celebration of the culmination of Buddhist Lent held on the shores of the Mekong River. Yet not far away, only a few blocks in fact, an equally impressive display was unfolding as the Laos Secret Police Intelligence Unit was arresting a group of anti-Stalinist protestors in front of the presidential palace. The Vientiane-based Western diplomat told WorldNetDaily, "The Pathet Lao's secret police had arrested at least 50 protestors, some of whom are still in prison, including 10 students," as of this writing. "Then there is the well-documented arrest of Christian missionaries from America, France and Thailand," he added, referring to the 44 Christians imprisoned in Laos in 1998 from the Evangelical Church of Christ. Most of the 44 were members of the Little Rock, Arkansas-based "Partners in Progress" group. Those imprisoned in this case were officially charged with "creating social division." "What concerns me more is that China has ordered the Pathet Lao to increase the amount of time that government employees must spend in communist political indoctrination training. You see, it is totally inevitable that more persecution is coming against Christians. And also inevitable that more protests of the government will erupt due to Laos' failing economy." Other diplomats and sources interviewed by WorldNetDaily in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Ponsavan said that 46 Christians are being held in Laos without trial. Most of those imprisoned are being held in very harsh conditions. A European diplomat told this reporter, "There is a connection between the 1997 Asian meltdown and the current crackdown against dissent in Laos. The Pathet Laos saw the protests against the governments in South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand after the '97 crash."

"The Pathet Lao fear massive protests against their regime. The crackdown on Protestant Christian groups appears related to religious crackdowns in China and Vietnam, which are close allies of the communist leadership in Laos," he said. "Certainly the Pathet Lao keep a special eye on these events [protests and religious meetings] and are briefed by the Chinese secret police, PLA and also the Vietnamese government at special bilateral meetings on controlling Christians." Why are Christians so hard to control? "Because they have a long-term view of life, believe in heaven and freedom and they are not afraid to die for their faith," says Intelligence analyst Don McAlvany in his McAlvany Intelligence Advisor. Keeping score on the persecution A representative of a Bangkok-based non-governmental organization, or NGO, told WND that 11 Christians are currently being held in Attapeu province in Laos. Three Christians are currently in jail in Luang Prabang (WorldNetDaily had the chance to visit them), 15 in Saavannakhet, four in Udomsay, seven in Xieng Khouang and six in Houaphan. The source believes the persecution of Christians in the southern Laotian city of Savannakhet began in November and December of 1998. At that time, Nouhak Phoumsavan, the ex-president of Laos, visited the region and declared it to be a "Christian-free zone." Phoumsavan ordered the arrest of Evangelical Church leader Pa Tood, who had been arrested twice previously. Pa Tood's relatives told WorldNetDaily he had been "kept in solitary confinement day and night, with his legs in a wooden stockade. The Pathet Lao offered him bail if he would only renounce Jesus Christ as the Son of God and say that Jesus had no healing powers, and never did rise from the dead." The Pathet Lao government's charges against the groups, shown to WorldNetDaily by European diplomats, said the Christians had been detained because they had a "belief in Jesus religion," and "tried to use the Bible as a means of propaganda for conversion against the [Communist] Party." Most of those detained belong to the Lao Evangelical Church. These Christians are farmers from the Hmong ethnic hill tribes, although Oy and Bru hill tribes are also represented in those currently in prison for their faith.

The Loatian foreign ministry denies the detentions, especially those of a religious nature. A top-level Japanese trade official in Vientiane told WND, "Christians may well be made the scapegoats for Laos' economic problems. I am not a Christian, but I am saddened to see any peaceful group persecuted. It's a terrible thing. But this is the world we live in. And today the world revolves around trade and money. Everything else is just conversation." And the Chinese involvement in the crackdown? "Between 1990 and the October 26th incident of 1999, there was not a single incident of protest against the Pathet Lao. I can tell you why. In 1990, three ex-government officials in Laos passed around a petition calling for economic reform. The officials were all imprisoned at the request of the Chinese government. The officials were sentenced to 14 years in prison. One of them died while in custody. After that, the people in Laos knew that civil disobedience in even the smallest respect was impossible." For its part, while China's demand that India surrender the teenaged Buddhist Karpama Lama back to Beijing had made global headlines, away from the limelight communist China has been increasing its persecution of evangelical Christians. For example, in December of last year, Beijing outlawed several major evangelical organizations (whose membership reach as high as 3 million) as "evil groups." In that month alone, over 100 evangelical leaders were arrested across China. In Hunan province, six evangelical Christian leaders were sentenced to gruesome logai gulags for leading the "evil cults." Other Protestants have been sent to the gulags for simply organizing a Bible study and/or posting the meeting on the Internet. Rabbi David Saperstein, the chairman of a U.S. congressional commission to monitor religious freedom and persecution around the globe, has said of China's increasing persection, "In the last few months there has been a clear pattern of escalation."

"China is the largest holder of America's foreign debt. As such, they are America's bank. There is persecution and marginalization of Christians in America going on right now, so we can't expect the U.S. government to help our brothers and sisters being persecuted in China now, or in Laos and Vietnam," says Eunice Xu, of the Hong Kong-based China-Indochine Christian House. Xu was educated in France, and maintains close ties with Christians in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam as well as mainland China. "If the West believes it can use money, trade and development as a carrot to end the persecution of Christians in Asia, they are very mistaken," added Xu in an interview with WorldNetDaily. An economic disaster Laos was admitted over two years ago to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, erected in the 1960s as an anti-communist alliance. Yet today it includes Stalinist Laos, communist Vietnam, Marxist Cambodia and fascist Burma. According to the American Embassy in Laos, the Kip -- Laos' official currency -- has lost 87 percent of its value since July of 1997. June of 1997, some will recall, marked the beginning of the Asian economic meltdown, which began in Thailand. In September of 1999, Laotian finance minister Khamphoui Keoboulapha instituted an International Monetary Fund plan to create an artificial shortage of the Kip. This boosted the Kip's value to 7,600 Kip to one U.S. dollar. However, instead of going along with the IMF plan, almost all Laotians switched to using U.S. dollars and Thai baht for their everyday financial transactions. Yet, the Laotian financial meltdown rolled on. Wages worth $100 in July of 1997 are today worth no more than $30. Inflation is growing at 130 percent per year in the Stalinist paradise of Laos. Direct foreign investment is down from a peak of $1.2 billion in 1995 to a mere $150 million today.

For its part, Thailand had given Laos almost 45 percent of its total amount of foreign investment, but given Thailand's economic meltdown, that figure has shriveled considerably. Even the World Bank has cut back its feeding orgy of the Pathet Lao. World Bank aid reached a high of $50 million in 1995, but has now been cut in half. Having driven its Western-educated middle and upper classes abroad since the 1975 communist takeover of the nation, the Laos government suffers under gross macroeconomic mismanagement. The Politburo, led by Khamtay Siphadone, is exclusively composed of communist military cadres who have no training or education in market economics. One German diplomat said, "We are scaling back our loans to the Pathet Lao. The one-party system in Laos, Stalinist as it is, can't bring reform to the economy." Germany has been the second largest bilateral donor of aid to Laos, ranking just behind Japan. "Inflation is now over 300 percent in Laos since the mid to late 1990s. This is the highest in all of ASEAN," added the diplomat. Prince Soulivong Savang, the 36-year-old exiled crowned leader of Laos, currently residing in France (Laos' former colonial ruler) has repeatedly said that the "Pathet Laos are a human rights disaster." The prince has tried to get the U.S. to negotiate a return to democracy in Laos. "If I had a chance to go back to Laos, the first thing I would bring is freedom. But this is not going to be an easy task. Democracy has to be learned, and people have to learn their rights. In light of the disastrous economic situation in Laos right now, and the fact that Laotians abroad are successful, we can go back and help rebuild the country," said the prince, who has been trying to gain access to meet with top officials at the U.S. State Department. Unless a radical and totally unexpected transformation occurs in Laos, it appears that economic depression, public outcries for political and monetary reform, and religious persecution of Christians will continue to go hand and hand for the next decade, and possibly into the next generation.

Michael Young Columbia University delivered at the International Coalition for Religious Freedom Conference on "Religious Freedom and the New Millenium" Washington DC, April 17-19, 1998

I don�t think I have ever been asked to cover all of Asia in 20 minutes, but I will try to do that with two central thoughts. Let�s start with a scripture verse from the Christian Bible�s book of Matthew. It says, �Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness� sake.� To the extent one believes that, many Asian governments provide blessings to Christians. Persecution is extensive, but there are also rays of hope. It is very much like quoting Dickens: �It was the best of times and the worst of times.� I want to cover both positive developments and approaches as well as the very severe problems. I will begin by examining some of the reasons for religious persecution.

The reasons differ from country to country and within particular countries from religious group to religious group. One reason is a fear of external influences. Many Asian countries are particularly sensitive to the prospect that there will be destabilizing external influences. China is very vocal in that regard, as are a number of other Asian countries. Many religions are considered foreign and are therefore particular targets. In some cases, groups that have a separatist agenda are often also both ethnically and religiously identified.

Sometimes these groups are supported by external religious organizations or people who are identified with a particular religion. There is also fear in a number of these countries regarding internal political stability and the integrity of borders. Third, many of these countries fear religions, both domestic and foreign, as possible alternate sources of legitimacy and allegiance on the part of the people that may undermine the state�s ability to control its population. Religions often provide a convenient scapegoat in the event of political unrest caused by failed economic, social, or political policies. Religions often are blamed for some of these failures and, therefore, become easy targets for persecution on the part of the government. There also exists in Asia, as in many other regions, some basic secular hostility to religion.

Religion is viewed as somehow antiquated, superstitious, or pre-modern, and it is the government�s job to stamp out those influences in the process of rationalizing societies. Finally, in Asia, as in many other places, it is important to acknowledge the effect of plain bureaucratic ineptitude. Ignorance, inefficiency, and policies with unintended consequences are major problems in some countries. As in other parts of the world, if a government feels a loss of authority when a religion presents an alternative set of allegiances, it may try to exercise more control over the daily life of its citizens. It may also react with indoctrination campaigns. One can see in these circumstances that the reason for religious persecution often relates to the mechanisms that the government uses. To complete this picture, allow me to turn to some specific countries.

Asia presents a fairly good case study in examining why the degree of religious persecution varies from country to country. A number of variables are important to consider: history, current demographic patterns, and so forth; but the variable that seems most profound in these cases, and most causally related, seems to be the degree of confidence the government has in itself and the degree of legitimacy. The higher the degree of legitimacy, the greater the government�s confidence in its own ability to rule, the more space it gives religion. Less confidence and a lower degree of legitimacy seem to intensify persecution rather dramatically. Looking at it from that perspective, I suggest several patterns. The first, starting on the good end of the spectrum, are the liberal democracies, such as they are. They tend to be relatively confident and believe themselves to have a relatively high degree of legitimacy. They also tend to have relatively low levels of religious persecution. It is also the case, however, that most of these countries have relatively high degrees of ethnic uniformity as well. Religion does not tend to play a politically divisive role, as it does in some other countries. Japan is a fairly good example of this first pattern. Japan is a country with relatively little overt hostile persecution of religion.

In fact, in the postwar period it is arguable that Japan has swung a little bit too far the other way and has not adequately supervised the activities of some organizations that claim a religious identification and therefore some immunity from government inspection. The clearest example of that is Aum Shinrikyo, which engaged in a series of murders and gas attacks. These are things about which the police almost certainly had a relatively large amount of information well before the culminating attack on the subway in Tokyo. Much of this stems from Japan�s use of religion, particularly Shintoism, as a device to mobilize patriotic support and to enhance the militarization of Japan prior to World War II. This has caused the government to exercise tremendous caution when dealing with religions. That has been, by and large, a healthy caution, though now the pendulum is swinging just a bit the other way to occasion some enhanced supervision. The problems that occur in Japan tend to be problems similar to those in other liberal democracies�bureaucratic ineptitude, some fundamental secular hostility, and a lack of understanding in the ways in which governmental regulation may adversely affect religious worship and religious activities. South Korea is similar to Japan in many ways, though it has generally been less confident.

Interestingly, even when the government was clearly less confident in itself, and less legitimate, religious tolerance remained fairly high. This was true even for religions that were not indigenous, such as Christianity. There may be a couple reasons. One is that the Christian movement in Korea had relatively little organizational cohesion and tended to break into a large number of somewhat smaller churches. Therefore, the political force may have been somewhat muted. Another possible reason is that Christianity was viewed, at least partially, as an implicit rejection of Japanese values. Japan, having occupied Korea for many years, has generated tremendous hostility within Korea. Christianity was viewed in many ways as a strong rejection of Japanese values and was therefore not discouraged by the government. Korea has its share of problems in relation to religious freedom, but they tend to be of the kind I described in the case of Japan. The Philippines and Taiwan are also on this side of the spectrum, as is Thailand to some extent.

We begin to shift a little bit in the case of Thailand. Buddhism is the state religion in Thailand, but, by and large, restriction of other religions is not so great. Singapore is an interesting case. Here, we begin to move along the spectrum a little more.This country is somewhat less confident and less legitimate, with ethnic minority groups having less democracy than is true in some of the other countries I just talked about. There is a fair amount of government scrutiny of religion. Religions are required to register. Some are banned, including Jehovah�s Witnesses and the Unification Church. The justification for the Jehovah�s Witness ban is that they refuse to perform military service, to salute the flag, and so forth. Although the forms this persecution takes may not be as horrendous as some of the other areas mentioned today, clearly the government does take actions designed to try and eliminate proscribed religions. For example, recently a 72-year-old woman, a Jehovah�s Witness, was arrested for possessing Jehovah�s Witness literature. The entire building in which she lived was raided and the literature was seized. Now let me turn to the other end of the spectrum. What are probably two of the most repressive regimes in the world are in Asia, Burma and the Democratic People�s Republic of Korea, or North Korea. They are an example of just about everything you can think of that is bad in terms of trying to stamp out religion. They do this predominantly through extensive registration requirements and monitoring all religious activities. Only authorized religious activities are permitted. The few authorized religious organizations that do exist appear to be sham organizations, with the possible exception of Buddhism. In Burma, the government favors Buddhism because it is viewed as an indigenous religion.

Government officials are often seen presiding at Buddhist ceremonies. All other religions are strongly discouraged. There is a small Muslim population. The Burmese government seems to both stimulate Buddhists to attack Muslims and sit by and tolerate the destruction of Muslim property, including mosques and other holy places. There are no Bibles permitted in native languages in Burma. North Korea is similar. It has destroyed all foreign religious activity for fear of foreign influence, as well as for fear of subverting the domestic regime. There are a few state-sponsored religious organizations, which appear to be designed to interact with religious charitable organizations that have been providing aid and food to Korea. It appears, by all accounts, that these are completely staged religious activities. The people who run them seem quite unfamiliar with the doctrine of the churches they supposedly represent. The only religious activity in these organizations appears to occur on a government-scheduled basis. People who have gone to supposedly Christian churches without scheduling their visit in advance have found them locked and empty. There really doesn�t appear to be a serious religious component to government-authorized organizations. Religious organizations that are not authorized are simply not tolerated. It is hard to get more information from within North Korea as to the exact extent of persecution or the actual size of the religious community there. What is clear is that the government exercises very severe control over all kinds of speech and assembly, as well as virtually every aspect of a person�s life. Therefore, it is not unlikely that there is religious intolerance as well. Vietnam follows the same pattern.

It severely restricts religion, though in recent years there has been some relaxation. You must have government permission to train clergy, hold conventions, have any non-regular services, or promote, transfer, or assign clergy. It is hard, if not impossible, to obtain materials. Everything is under government control. There are three government organizations under which all religious activities are supposed to be sponsored: the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam, the Catholic Patriotic Organization, and the Christian Missionary Alliance. The Vietnamese government routinely arrests anybody who practices or exercises any form of observable religion outside of the scope of these three organizations. Let me spend just a few minutes on China. China is obviously a country, given its size and importance, about which we need to be very concerned.

China manifests virtually all forms of religious persecution for all of the reasons we have discussed. One thing that is particularly interesting about China, however, is the lessons one can learn about the new forms that religious control and persecution may take. I stress this point because I think there is a very strong analogy to what is going on in Russia and some of the eastern European states these days. China is beginning to reduce explicitly police-based persecution of religion in terms of simply shutting down churches and running people out of town. Instead, it has shifted to a much more legally based persecution. There has been this very strong shift, probably for several reasons. Number one is that their more overt persecutions seem not to be working very well. Number two, religious interest is clearly on the rise in China, and the authorities are obviously very worried. Number three, there has been very strong external pressure from the West to establish a more predictable legal regime that respects human rights. These reasons seem to have combined in the minds of the Chinese leaders to create a system in which they accommodate the West by creating laws, while in fact, the laws that they are creating are particularly effective devices for controlling the legal religious organizations and for the persecution of undesired religious groups. These laws are characterized by an increasing tendency to create an overreaching law that creates registry powers and then to delegate authority to local levels of government to interpret and apply the laws in practice. The effect over the past few years, and the last year in particular, is that we have seen local provinces and some autonomous regions issuing very elaborate directives about how religions are to be handled. Local interpretation of these laws suggests religion and religious groups will be handled in a very strict, draconian way. Indeed, one sees substantial evidence of such treatment in China. At the same time, the leaders at the central level are professing that these laws are just.

They profess that every country needs to regulate religions and have them registered to provide adequate tax benefits and so forth. They are willfully blind as to the way in which these laws are actually being interpreted and implemented at the local level. Combined with the absence of an effective judiciary, the absence of lawyers who are trained to defend religious groups and individuals and the tremendous bureaucratic discretion and control of power at the local level, we are witnessing the creation of a legal system that may�and indeed the Chinese leaders anticipate will� be more effective in suppressing religion than their prior efforts. Let us take a brief look at these laws, which are designed to put religion under state control. You have to register. Registered religions are all designed to achieve the policies of the government. There can be no foreign influence. There is a very strong and effective organization that will not register all who apply. There may be some difficulty in registering. There are also difficulties for any religion that is not willing to profess its allegiance to the state, both ideologically and administratively. A number of religions have explicitly chosen not to register. Unregistered groups may be charged with a variety of offenses; their property may be destroyed or confiscated, leaders fined or jailed, and followers punished by loss of employment, housing, fines, etc., not to mention possible physical abuse. Other groups have chosen to try and operate on the fringe. Those who operate on the fringe are subject to quite severe persecution and arrests of all different sorts. These include a case in which elderly people were arrested at 11:00 or 12:00 at night as they were trying to perform a funeral mass for an elderly nun who had passed away. They were arrested and sentenced to three years of education. Adherence to religion is grounds for dismissal from the Communist Party.

Achievement of any political post is predicated on membership in the Communist Party. Therefore, one effectively controls political participation as well. The Chinese are concerned about separatist movements in Tibet and in several provinces in western China with a high concentration of Muslims. In these areas the persecution of religion is much more active, intense, and aggressive, and is much more military oriented. Let me close with one last case study I think is quite interesting.

Indonesia has many of the characteristics that might lead one to think that it would be inclined to persecute religion. It has, however, achieved a fairly delicate ethnic balance. If ethnic warfare were to break out, it could be so explosive that it would destabilize the country almost instantly. While one would not go so far as to say that the government has worked diligently to provide great public space, it nevertheless has worked to some extent to encourage toleration. For example, there were a series of riots in one part of the country where there had been mob violence against Christians and Buddhists by a Muslim community.

The government immediately went in and worked with a series of youth organizations that Indonesian youth are required to join. They created an amalgamation of those organizations that was designed to bring Islamic, Protestant, and Catholic youth together to discuss toleration. At the same time, the president went to an island that had been subject to a fair amount of Muslim persecution of religions and dedicated a 40-foot-high statue of Christ as a sign that religious tolerance was an important aspect of Indonesian society. I don�t mean to overstate Indonesia as an ideal society, but I would like to suggest that there are countries in Asia that provide examples we should encourage. Certainly, the U.S. government as well as other governments and international organizations should put pressure on those governments engaged in religious persecution and suppression to change their behavior. At the same time, there are also some countries in Asia from which I think others in the world can learn by examining the situations in those countries and comparing them to the situation in their own.

FSOC DAILY ASIA NEWS AND WEATHER

ASIA HILLTRIBE CHURCH

http://asiahilltribechurch.8k.com

FSOC DAILY PRAYER

DEAR LORD.....

LORD HAVE MERCY

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
That where there is hatred - I may bring love,
That where there is wrong - I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,
That where there is discord - I may bring harmony,
That where there is error - I may bring truth,
That where there is doubt - I may bring faith,
That where there are shadows - I may bring Thy light,
That where there is sadness - I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek to console - than to be consoled,
To understand - than to be loved.
Because
It is by giving that one receives,
It is by self-forgetting that one finds,
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven,
It is by owing that one awakes to the eternal life.
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI-1182-1226-ASSISI-ITALY

"IF"

If you can keep your head when all about you
demorats are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all demorats doubt you
But make allowance for their dumb doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in demorat lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to demorat hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream- and not make dreams your master,
If you can think- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by demorat knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings- nor lose the common touch,
If neither demorat foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And- which is more- you'll be a REPUBLICAN
- Rudyard Kipling-

modification by

COL.WALTER E. KURTZ

FSOC COMMANDER

FROM MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS LED BY THE HOLY FATHER POPE BENEDICT XVI ON GOOD FRIDAY 2006

COMPOSED BY Archbishop ANGELO COMASTRI Vicar General of His Holiness for Vatican City President of the Fabric of Saint Peter's

� We have lost our sense of sin!
Today a slick campaign of propaganda
Is spreading an inane apologia of evil,
A senseless cult of Satan,
A mindless desire for transgression,
A dishonest and frivolous freedom,
Exalting impulsiveness, immorality and selfishness
As if they were new heights of sophistication.a

Lord Jesus,
Open our eyes:
Let us see the filth around us
And recognize it for what it is,
So that a single tear of sorrow
Can restore us to purity of heart
And the breadth of true freedom.
Open our eyes, Lord, Jesus!

� Surely God is deeply pained
By the attack on the family.
Today we seem to be witnessing
A kind of anti-Genesis,
A counter-plan, a diabolical pride
Aimed at eliminating the family.

There is a move to reinvent mankind,
To modify the very grammar of life
As planned and willed by God.

But, to take God�s place, without being God,
Is insane arrogance,
A risky and dangerous venture.

May Christ�s fall open our eyes
To see once more the beautiful face,
The true face, the holy face of the family.
The face of the family
which all of us need.

� Lord Jesus,
Purity has everywhere fallen victim
To a calculated conspiracy of silence: an impure silence!
People have even come to believe
A complete lie:
That purity is somehow the enemy of love.

But the opposite is true, O Lord!
Purity is necessary
As a condition for love:
A love that is true, a love that is faithful.

In any event, Lord,
If we cannot be the master of ourselves?
How can we give ourselves to others?

� Everything seems over,
The wicked seem to triumph,
And evil appears more powerful than good.

But faith enables us to see afar,
it makes us glimpse the break of a new day
On the other side of this day.
Faith promises us that the final word
belongs to God: to God alone!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pope says rich nations "plundered" Third World
Wed Apr 4, 2007

VATICAN CITY - Rich countries bent on power and profit have mercilessly "plundered and sacked" Africa and other poor regions and exported to them the "cynicism of a world without God," Pope Benedict writes in his first book.The Pope also condemns drug trafficking and sexual tourism, saying they are signs of a world brimming with "people who are empty" yet living among abundant material goods.One section of the book was printed in Wednesday's Corriere Della Sera daily before publication later this month by Italian publisher Rizzoli, which owns the newspaper. A Rizzoli spokeswoman confirmed the authenticity of the excerpts.In the 400-page book, called "Jesus of Nazareth," the Pope offers a modern application of Jesus's parable of the Good Samaritan, who stopped to help a man who had been robbed by thieves when others, including a priest, had not."The current relevance of the parable is obvious," the Pope writes."If we apply it to the dimensions of globalised society today, we see how the populations of Africa have been plundered and sacked and this concerns us intimately," the Pope says in his book, which comes out on April 16, his 80th birthday.He drew a link between the lifestyle of people in the developed world and the dire conditions of people in Africa.

STRIPPED NAKED

"We see how our lifestyle, the history that involved us, has stripped them naked and continues to strip them naked," he writes.The German Pope, who has condemned the effects of colonialism before, said rich countries had also hurt poor countries spiritually by belittling or trying to wipe out their own cultural and spiritual traditions."Instead of giving them God, the God close to us in Christ, and welcoming in their traditions all that is precious and great ... we have brought them the cynicism of a world without God, where only power and profit count...," he writes.The Pope says his comments were valid for other regions apart from Africa.In what could be seen as a strong self-criticism of the Roman Catholic Church, whose missionary activities often went hand-in-glove with colonialism, the Pope writes:"We destroyed (their) moral criteria to the point that corruption and a lust for power devoid of scruples have become obvious."

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE

- Pope Benedict warned Catholic politicians they risked excommunication from the Church and should not receive communion if they support abortion.It was the first time that the Pope, speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him on a trip to Brazil, dealt in depth with a controversial topic that has come up in many countries, including the United States, Mexico, and Italy.The Pope was asked whether he supported Mexican Church leaders threatening to excommunicate leftist parliamentarians who last month voted to legalize abortion in Mexico City."Yes, this excommunication was not an arbitrary one but is allowed by Canon (church) law which says that the killing of an innocent child is incompatible with receiving communion, which is receiving the body of Christ," he said."They (Mexican Church leaders) did nothing new, surprising or arbitrary. They simply announced publicly what is contained in the law of the Church... which expresses our appreciation for life and that human individuality, human personality is present from the first moment (of life)".Under Church law, someone who knowingly does or backs something which the Church considers a grave sin, such as abortion, inflicts what is known as "automatic excommunication" on themselves.The Pope said parliamentarians who vote in favor of abortion have "doubts about the value of life and the beauty of life and even a doubt about the future"."Selfishness and fear are at the root of (pro-abortion) legislation," he said. "We in the Church have a great struggle to defend life...life is a gift not a threat."

"ALWAYS A GIFT"

The Pope's comments appear to raise the stakes in the debate over whether Catholic politicians can support abortion or gay marriage and still consider themselves proper Catholics.In recent months, the Vatican has been accused of interference in Italy for telling Catholic lawmakers to oppose a draft law that would grant some rights to unwed and gay couples.During the 2004 presidential election, the U.S. Catholic community was split over whether to support Democratic candidate John Kerry, himself a Catholic who backed abortion rights.Some Catholics say they personally would not have an abortion but feel obliged to support a woman's right to choose.But the Church, which teaches that life begins at the moment of conception and that abortion is murder, says Catholics cannot have it both ways."The Church says life is beautiful, it is not something to doubt but it is a gift even when it is lived in difficult circumstances. It is always a gift," the Pope said.Only Cuba, Guyana and U.S. commonwealth Puerto Rico allow abortion on demand in Latin America. Many other countries in the region permit it in special cases, such as if the fetus has defects or if the mother's life is at risk.Brazil, the world's most populous Catholic country, is mulling bringing the debate to a referendum.

Letter of His Holiness Pope Benedict

XVI to Chinese Catholics

IN RED COMMUNIST CHINA

27 May 2007

By his �Letter to Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Persons and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Church in the People�s Republic of China�, which bears the date of Pentecost Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI wishes to express his love for and his closeness to the Catholics who live in China. He does so, obviously, as Successor of Peter and Universal Pastor of the Church.From the text two basic thoughts are clear: on the one hand, the Pope�s deep affection for the entire Catholic community in China and, on the other, his passionate fidelity to the great values of the Catholic tradition in the ecclesiological field; hence, a passion for charity and a passion for the truth. The Pope recalls the great ecclesiological principles of the Second Vatican Council and the Catholic tradition, but at the same time takes into consideration particular aspects of the life of the Church in China, setting them in an ample theological perspective.

A. The Church in China in the last fifty years

The Catholic community in China has lived the past fifty years in an intense way, undertaking a difficult and painful journey, which not only has deeply marked it but has also caused it to take on particular characteristics which continue to mark it today.The Catholic community suffered an initial persecution in the 1950s, which witnessed the expulsion of foreign Bishops and missionaries, the imprisonment of almost all Chinese clerics and the leaders of the various lay movements, the closing of churches and the isolation of the faithful. Then, at the end of the 1950s, various state bodies were established, such as the Office for Religious Affairs and the Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics, with the aim of directing and �controlling� all religious activity. In 1958 the first two episcopal ordinations without papal mandate took place, initiating a long series of actions which deeply damaged ecclesial communion.In the decade 1966-1976, the Cultural Revolution, which took place throughout the country, violently affected the Catholic community, striking even those Bishops, priests and lay faithful who had shown themselves more amenable to the new orientations imposed by government authorities.In the 1980s, with the gestures of openness promoted by Deng Xiaoping, there began a period of religious tolerance with some possibility of movement and dialogue, which led to the reopening of churches, seminaries and religious houses, and to a certain revival of community life. The information coming from communities of the Catholic Church in China confirmed that the blood of the martyrs had once again been the seed of new Christians: the faith had remained alive in the communities; the majority of Catholics had given fervent witness of fidelity to Christ and the Church; families had become the key to the transmission of the faith to their members. The new climate, however, provoked different reactions within the Catholic community.In this regard, the Pope notes that some Pastors, �not wishing to be subjected to undue control exercised over the life of the Church, and eager to maintain total fidelity to the Successor of Peter and to Catholic doctrine, have felt themselves constrained to opt for clandestine consecration� to ensure a pastoral service to their own communities (No. 8). In fact, as the Holy Father makes clear, �the clandestine condition is not a normal feature of the Church�s life, and history shows that Pastors and faithful have recourse to it only amid suffering, in the desire to maintain the integrity of their faith and to resist interference from State agencies in matters pertaining intimately to the Church�s life� (ibid.).Others, who were especially concerned with the good of the faithful and with an eye to the future �have consented to receive episcopal ordination without the pontifical mandate, but have subsequently asked to be received into communion with the Successor of Peter and with their other brothers in the episcopate� (ibid.). The Pope, in consideration of the complexity of the situation and being deeply desirous of promoting the re-establishment of full communion, granted many of them �full and legitimate exercise of episcopal jurisdiction�.

Attentively analyzing the situation of the Church in China, Benedict XVI is aware of the fact that the community is suffering internally from a situation of conflict in which both faithful and Pastors are involved. He emphasizes, however, that this painful situation was not brought about by different doctrinal positions but is the result of the �the significant part played by entities that have been imposed as the principal determinants of the life of the Catholic community� (No. 7). These are entities, whose declared purposes � in particular, the aim of implementing the principles of independence, self-government and self-management of the Church � are not reconcilable with Catholic doctrine. This interference has given rise to seriously troubling situations. What is more, Bishops and priests have been subjected to considerable surveillance and coercion in the exercise of their pastoral office.In the 1990s, from many quarters and with increasing frequency, Bishops and priests turned to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Secretariat of State in order to obtain from the Holy See precise instructions as to how they should conduct themselves with regard to some problems of ecclesial life in China. Many asked what attitude should be adopted towards the government and towards state agencies in charge of Church life. Other queries concerned strictly sacramental problems, such as the possibility of concelebrating with Bishops who had been ordained without papal mandate or of receiving the sacraments from priests ordained by these Bishops. Finally, the legitimizing of numerous Bishops who had been illicitly consecrated confused some sectors of the Catholic community.In addition, the law on registering places of worship and the state requirement of a certificate of membership in the Patriotic Association gave rise to fresh tensions and further questions.During these years, Pope John Paul II on several occasions addressed messages and appeals to the Church in China, calling all Catholics to unity and reconciliation. The interventions of the Holy Father were well received, creating a desire for unity, but sadly the tensions with the authorities and within the Catholic community did not diminish.For its part, the Holy See has provided directives regarding the various problems, but the passage of time and the rise of new situations of increasing complexity required a reconsideration of the overall question in order to provide the clearest answer possible to the queries and to issue sure guidance for pastoral activity in years to come.

B. The history of the Papal Letter

The various problems which seem to have most seriously affected the life of the Church in China in recent years were amply and carefully analyzed by a special select Commission made up of some experts on China and members of the Roman Curia who follow the situation of that community. When Pope Benedict XVI decided to call a meeting from 19-20 January 2007 durring which various ecclesiastics, including some from China, took part, the aforementioned Commission worked to produce a document aimed at ensuring broad discussion on the various points, gathering practical recommendations made by the participants and proposing some possible theological and pastoral guidelines for the Catholic community in China. His Holiness, who graciously took part in the final session of the meeting, decided, among other things, to address a Letter to the Bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful.

C. Content of the Letter

         �Without claiming to deal with every detail of the complex matters well known to you�, writes Benedict XVI to the Catholics of China, �I wish through this letter to offer some guidelines concerning the life of the Church and the task of evangelization in China, in order to help you discover what the Lord and Master Jesus Christ wants from you� (No. 2). The Pope reiterates some fundamental principles of Catholic ecclesiology in order to clarify the more important problems, aware that the light shed by these principles will provide assistance in dealing with the various questions and the more concrete aspects of the life of the Catholic community.While expressing great joy for the fidelity demonstrated by the faithful in China over the past fifty years, Benedict XVI reaffirms the inestimable value of their sufferings and of the persecution endured for the Gospel, and he directs to all an earnest appeal for unity and reconciliation. Since he is aware of the fact that full reconciliation �cannot be accomplished overnight�, he recalls that this path �of reconciliation is supported by the example and the prayer of so many �witnesses of faith� who have suffered and have forgiven, offering their lives for the future of the Catholic Church in China� (No. 6).In this context, the words of Jesus, �Duc in altum� (Lk 5:4), continue to ring true. This is an expression which invites �us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm and to look forward to the future with confidence�. In China, as indeed in the rest of the world, �the Church is called to be a witness of Christ, to look forward with hope, and � in proclaiming the Gospel � to measure up to the new challenges that the Chinese people must face� (No. 3). �In your country too� the Pope states, �the proclamation of Christ crucified and risen will be possible to the extent that, with fidelity to the Gospel, in communion with the Successor of the Apostle Peter and with the universal Church, you are able to put into practice the signs of love and unity� (ibid.).In dealing with some of the more urgent problems which emerge from the queries which have reached the Holy See from Bishops and priests, Benedict XVI offers guidance regarding the recognition of ecclesiastics of the clandestine community by the government authorities (cf. No. 7) and he gives much prominence to the subject of the Chinese Episcopate (cf. No. 8), with particular reference to matters surrounding the appointment of Bishops (cf. No. 9). Of special significance are the pastoral directives which the Holy Father gives to the community, which emphasize in the first place the figure and mission of the Bishop in the diocesan community: �nothing without the Bishop�. In addition, he provides guidance for Eucharistic concelebration and he encourages the creation of diocesan bodies laid down by canonical norms. He does not fail to give directions for the training of priests and family life.As for the relationship of the Catholic community to the State, Benedict XVI in a serene and respectful way recalls Catholic doctrine, formulated anew by the Second Vatican Council. He then expresses the sincere hope that the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese government will make progress so as to be able to reach agreement on the appointment of Bishops, obtain the full exercise of the faith by Catholics as a result of respect for genuine religious freedom and arrive at the normalization of relations between the Holy See and the Beijing Government.Finally, the Pope revokes all the earlier and more recent faculties and directives of a pastoral nature which had been granted by the Holy See to the Church in China. The changed circumstances of the overall situation of the Church in China and the greater possibilities of communication now enable Catholics to follow the general canonical norms and, where necessary, to have recourse to the Apostolic See. In any event, the doctrinal principles which inspired the above-mentioned faculties and directives now find fresh application in the directives contained in the present Letter (cf. No. 18).

D. Tone and outlook of the Letter

         With spiritual concern and using an eminently pastoral language, Benedict XVI addresses the entire Church in China. His intention is not to create situations of harsh confrontation with particular persons or groups: even though he expresses judgments on certain critical situations, he does so with great understanding for the contingent aspects and the persons involved, while upholding the theological principles with great clarity. The Pope wishes to invite the Church to a deeper fidelity to Jesus Christ and he reminds all Chinese Catholics of their mission to be evangelizers in the present specific context of their country. The Holy Father views with respect and deep sympathy the ancient and recent history of the great Chinese people and once again declares himself ready to engage in dialogue with the Chinese authorities in the awareness that normalization of the life of the Church in China presupposes frank, open and constructive dialogue with these authorities. Furthermore, Benedict XVI, like his Predecessor John Paul II before him, is firmly convinced that this normalization will make an incomparable contribution to peace in the world, thus adding an irreplaceable piece to the great mosaic of peaceful coexistence among peoples.

My Religious Faith

By Chiang Kai-shek

A radio broadcast, originally entitled �Why I Believe In Jesus,� delivered to Chinese Christian throughout the land on Easter eve, April 16, 1938

One who wishes to succeed in his work, especially one engaged in a revolutionary task, must be free from superstition and yet he must be a man of faith. Especially today, when the evil passions of men are running riot, do we need a firm faith in the ultimate triumph of right. Our country is now being torn asunder; our fellow countrymen are suffering untold agonies; our men are being massacred, and our women are being ravished. The very existence of our nation is threatened. How can we avert except by faith? Therefore, while we must eradicate all superstitions, we must at the same time cultivate a strong and positive faith. For example, if we believe with all our hearts that the San Min Chu I (Three Principles of the People) are essentially true and just principles, then we shall have the power to put them into effect, and our enemies will never be able to conquer us, no matter how fierce and cruel they may become. Fearlessness and confidence have their roots in an unshakable faith.Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. This evening I have been asked by the National federation of Chinese Christians to speak to my fellow-Christians throughout the country. I propose to follow my talk of last year with a further testimony on the subject, �Why I Believe in Jesus.�To my mind the first reason why we should believe in Jesus is that He was the leaser of a national revolution. At the time of Jesus� birth the Jewish people were steadily weakening under the heavy oppression of Rome. If we study the history of this period we find that the Jews were treated like slaves and animals at the hands of their enemies. The Romans has power of life and death over them. The Jews had not only failed to resist the aggressors, but they had even lost the will to resist. Then a people�s revolutionist was born in the person of Jesus, who courageously took upon Himself the heavy task of regenerating the nation. With sacrificial determination He set out to save His people, the world, and all mankind. He took His disciples on many itineraries, and by means of His preaching and healing, His Heaven-given wisdom and matchless eloquence, and His three ideals of truth, righteousness, and abundant life, He aroused the nation, led the masses, and prepared the way for a people�s revolution. The second reason why we should believe in Jesus is that He was the leader of a social revolution. The causes of a nation�s weakness are many. One of the most serious is the inability of the people to improve their living and economy and to put them on a rational foundation. Therefore, one engaged in a people�s revolution must begin by ridding society of its darkness and corruption, and then with fresh spirit create a new, expanding, abundant life for all the people, thus setting the nation free. Jesus fully realized that in order to revive His nation and regenerate His people He must launch a social revolution. He sought by the inspiration of His leadership and personality to awaken the perishing masses so that they would give up the ways of darkness, become new citizens, and build the foundations of a new society.In the third place, Jesus was the leader of a religious revolution. Jesus saw that unless there was a radical reform to sweep away the superstitions and corruption in the organized religion of His day, the real spirit of religion could not shine forth. Hence He often denounced those who prayed on the street corners, and strongly opposed the use of religion to exploit the people. All of His acts were designed to lead the Jewish religion from darkness to light, from decay to health, from chaos to order, from corruption to purity, and to lead society from the blackness of night in to the brightness of day. How important and yet how difficult was this task of reforming religion and of cleansing the religious society! Yet Jesus went ahead with utter disregard of personal suffering, in order that He might rescue religion and society from the evils that beset them and awaken the people from their spiritual lethargy.

I call Jesus a great religious revolutionist.I have often sought to study the secret of Jesus� revolutionary passion. It seems to me that it is found in His spirit of love. With His wonderful love Jesus sought to destroy the evil in the hearts of men, to do away with social injustices, and to enable everyone to enjoy his natural rights as a human being and receive the blessings of liberty, equality, and happiness. He believed that all men are brothers and that they should love one another and help one another in need. He believed in peace and justice between nations. Throughout His life He opposed violence and upheld righteousness. He was full of mercy and continually helped the weak. His great love and spirit of revolutionary self-sacrifice were demonstrated in all His words and deeds. His purpose to save the world and humanity was firm and His faith was immovable. He gave Himself in utter love and sacrifice for others. He was absolutely fearless, and He struggled to the end. When He was nailed to the Cross and made to suffer unspeakable pain, He faced the ordeal with calm and fortitude. His loyalty to His cause and to His sense of duty, and his magnanimity to friends and associates were virtues as precious as they are difficult to attain. See Jesus lifted on the cross; He still looks to Heaven and pleads with God to forgive His enemies for their ignorance. What marvelous Love! Jesus� revolutionary spirit came from His great love for humanity.If we compare the situation in China during the past few centuries when our national life degenerated under Manchu domination, we find that it was very similar to that occurring among the Jews under the rule of Rome. Our late leader, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, with his universal sympathy for all oppressed and his profound understanding of Jesus� revolutionary spirit of Love and sacrifice, carried on his revolutionary work for forty years and brought about at last the liberation of the Chinese people. In 1911 he overthrew the autocratic Manchu Dynasty and established the Republic of China, thereby completing his mission of national revolution.As I look at the future of our Revolution I am convinced that we cannot truly regenerate our nation unless we have the spirit-the revolutionary spirit-of struggle and sacrifice such as we find in Jesus. I once said, �We will not abandon peace until all hope of peaceful settlement is gone; but when we reach the limit we will consider no sacrifice too costly.� This, I believe, reflected Jesus� spirit. During the past five years, in addition to my regular duties, I have promoted several social movements. The best-known movement, and the one which has achieved some measure of success, is the New Life Movement. And yet I feel that this movement is apt to emphasize outward forms to the neglect of the inner substance, and to put more stress upon material than spiritual values. Where is the trouble? The answer is that many people are thinking only of new modes of living and not of a new quality of life. So I wish to give you this thought tonight: If we want to promote new ways of living, we must have not only a new spirit but also the quality of life that is inspired by the love and sacrificial purpose of Jesus.In conclusion, Jesus� spirit is positive, sacrificial, sure, true, progressive, inspiring, and always revolutionary. We observe Easter this year at a time of grave national peril. Easter testifies to the immortality of Jesus� spirit. We who share the Christian faith should treasure the Easter message of rebirth and resurrection. We should follow Jesus� way of sacrifice. We should take His life as our example, His spirit as out spirit, His life as our life. Let us march together toward the Cross, for the regeneration of our nation and for the realization of everlasting peace on earth.

Monday, Apr. 26, 1943

Chiang Kai shek's Christian belief Testimony

The declaration of faith of Christendom's most famed living convert was made public last week by the Methodist Church. Chiang Kai-shek had written it in 1937, shortly after his capture and release by his Sian kidnappers. The hardboiled, stern Generalissimo, whose mother was a devout Buddhist, came under the influence of three powerful Christian influences in youth and early manhood�Dr. Sun Yatsen, "Mother" K. T. Soong and her daughter, Meiling. In 1930, three years after he had married the brilliant, Wellesley-educated Meiling, Chiang was baptized a Methodist, the faith of his wife and her family. But not until his captivity in Sian, by his testimony, did his religion become a part of himself, and thus a part of China. Christian Husband. Chiang had resisted threats of violence, torture and public trial from his captors. "From my captors I asked but one thing�the Bible. . . . The greatness and love of Christ burst upon me with a new inspiration, increasing my strength to struggle against evil, to overcome temptation and to uphold righteousness. . . . When Christ entered Jerusalem the last time He knew the danger ahead, but triumphantly He rode into the city. . . . "In comparison, how unimportant my life must be! ... I remembered the prayers offered by Dr. Sun Yat-sen during his imprisonment in London. . . .* My strength was redoubled and ... I was prepared to make the final sacrifice. ... I was comforted and at rest. . . . "The greatest thing [about Dr. Sun] was the love he received from Christ �love which sought the emancipation of the weaker races and the welfare of op pressed peoples. This spirit remains with us now and reaches to the skies. "Today I find that I have taken a further step and have become a follower of Jesus Christ. This makes me realize more fully than ever that the success of our revolution depends upon men of faith, men of character, who because of their faith will not sacrifice principle for personal safety. . . . "The life of Christ is a long record of affliction and persecution. His spirit of forbearance, His love and His benevolence shine through it all. No more valuable lesson has yet come to me out of my Christian experience. "Without religion there can be no real understanding of life. Without faith our human problems, great and small, are difficult of solution." Christian Wife. The Methodist Church also published the vivid and more emotional testimony of the Madame: "By nature I am not a religious person ... a mystic. I am practical minded. Mundane things have meant much to me . . . mundane, not material things. I care more for a beautiful celadon vase than for costly jewels. . . . Also I am more or less skeptical. ... I do not yet believe in predigested religion in palatable, sugar-coated doses. . . . "I know my mother ['Mother' Soong] lived very close to God. I recognized something great in her. And I believe that my childhood training influenced me greatly even though I was more or less rebellious at the time. ... I found family prayers tiresome. ... I hated the long sermons. But today I feel that this church-going habit established something, a kind of stability. . . . "During the last seven years I ... have gone through deep waters because of the chaotic conditions in China. ... All these things have made me see my own inadequacy. More than that, all human insufficiency. To try to do anything for the country seemed like trying to put out a great conflagration with a cup of water. "During these years of my married life . . . there was [first] a tremendous enthusiasm and patriotism. . . . But there was no staying power. I was depending on self. Then ... I was plunged into dark despair ... I realized that spiritually I was failing my husband. . . . Thus I entered into the third period where I wanted to do not my will, but God's. ... I used to pray that God would do this or that. Now I pray only that God make His will known to me. . . . "Prayer is not self-hypnotism. It is more than meditation. ... I do not think it is possible to make this understandable to one who has not tried it. ... What I do want to make clear is that whether we get guidance or not, it's there. It's like tuning in on the radio. There's music in the air whether we tune in or not." ^{* Where he was arrested in 1896 for extradition to China, apparently
on the request of the Peking Government.}

WORDS OF WISDOM

In 1923, at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, eight of the most powerful money magnates in the world gathered together for a meeting one day. These eight, if they combined their total resources and assets, controlled more money than the U.S. Treasury. In that group were such men as Charles Schwab, the president of a steel company; Richard Whitney, the president of the New York Stock Exchange; Arthur Cutton, a wheat speculator; Albert Fall, a presidential cabinet member and personally a very wealthy man; Jesse Livermore, the greatest bear on Wall Street in his generation; Leon Fraser, the president of the International Bank of Settlements; and Ivan Krueger, who headed the largest monopoly. Quite an impressive and ambitious group of people! Let's look at the same group of men later in life. Charles Schwab died penniless. Richard Whitney spent the rest of his life serving a sentence in Sing-Sing Prison. Arthur Cutton became insolvent. Albert Fall was pardoned from a Federal Prison so he might die at home. Leon Fraser committed suicide. Jesse Livermore committed suicide. Ivan Krueger also committed suicide. Seven of these eight ambitious money-magnates lived lives that ended in disaster before they passed on from this life. What mistake did they make? What led to their ruin? I think it was that their ambition was misplaced and they thought that happiness lay in the accumulation of wealth.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven....For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (6:19,20).

The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

WHAT IS A FSOC PROFESSIONAL?

A professional learns every aspect of the job. An amateur skips the learning process whenever possible.

A professional carefully discovers what is needed and wanted. An amateur assumes what others need and want.

A professional looks, speaks and dresses like A professional. An amateur is sloppy in appearance and speech.

A professional keeps his or her equipment clean and orderly. An amateur has dirty gear.

A professional is focused and clear-headed. An amateur is confused and distracted.

A professional does not let mistakes slide by. An amateur ignores or hides mistakes.

A professional jumps into difficult assignments. An amateur tries to get out of difficult work.

A professional remains level-headed and optimistic. An amateur gets upset and assumes the worst.

A professional persists until the objective is achieved. An amateur gives up at the first opportunity.

A professional produces more than expected. An amateur produces just enough to get by.

A professional produces a high-quality product or service. An amateur produces medium-to-low quality product or service.

OPERATION FREEASIA

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FREEASIA EMAIL

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FREEASIA SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND (FSOC)

ASIA HILLTRIBE CHURCH

(AHC)

ASIA HILLTRIBE CHURCH

FREEASIA SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND (FSOC)