In the Face of Persecution, What Will I Do? (Part III)
Pastor Wang Yi Shares His Pre-Arrest Resolutions (7-10)
The original article was first posted on Wang Yi’s personal blog in October 2018. I will be working through these 14 “Resolutions” in four installments both here on the China Call Substack (with less commentary) and on the China Compass Podcast (with more commentary). Please continue to earnestly pray for Wang Yi and the other brothers and sisters in Chengdu.
Go back and begin with Part I and Part II if you’d like to refresh yourself, or read Pastor Wang Yi’s Introduction to these Resolutions, and/or my previous commentary. My thoughts on today’s Resolutions can be found below each point below.
7. Not plead guilty
Whether in interrogation, questioning or court trial, I will not admit to any crimes imposed against me on matters of faith and church, whether it is the accusation of inciting subversion of state power, creating disturbance, illegal business operations, disturbing social order, sabotaging law enforcement by cult organizations – these common charges to persecute and frame the church, or any other charges. I will not plead guilty, will not repent, and will not seek or agree to any form of release based on my admission of guilt, such as immunity from prosecution, probation, service of sentences outside prison, release on parole, release on bail, or residential surveillance at a designated location.
If I am under criminal detention, either I will be sentenced and serve out my prison term or I will be acquitted, with no room for compromise or negotiation for a third option, unless the police torture me brutally to the point of crushing my health and spirit.
— Pastor Wang Yi does not feel comfortable giving the Communist police even the perceived notion that they have true authority over him as a Christian pastor. Thus, he will not plead guilty to “crimes” (however accurately they may describe his actions) that are not crimes in God’s eyes. Some of us have (without thinking about it too deeply) taken a simpler path and signed our names “Guilty” on the dotted line when the police have asked, since we did in fact do certain things that THEY consider crimes. In my view, either route is acceptable. I need more time to meditate on Wang Yi’s point that pleading "guilty” for (in my case) distributing God’s Word is allowing THEM to control the narrative of what is or is not acceptable.
8. Disobeying ideological reform
The so-called reform through labor is a form of ideological reform for prisoners through forced labor and political education that was adopted in communist countries, such as the Soviet Union, North Korea, and China. As a Christian, I will physically obey any unjust sentences and submit to the prison’s discipline. But even though I serve this term, I will not be reformed ideologically.
I will neither plead guilty nor repent; my conscience forbids me from submitting to any reform measures based on my admission of guilt, such as compulsory political education or watching related TV programs, compulsory participation in flag ceremony, compulsory writing of ideological report, and compulsory singing of the red songs or shouting slogans. I will disobey such reform measures by peaceful means and will be ready to bear any cost for my response, unless the prison authority tortures me brutally to the point of crushing my health and spirit.
— I heartily agree with Pastor Wang Yi on this point. I will bear the punishment given, as unto the Lord rather than men. However, anything ideological in nature must be refused. This is their attempt to “re-educate” or “brainwash” prisoners through repetition, the breaking of the will, and more. And certain things such as flag flying, singing red songs, or shouting slogans, would be the equivalent of verbally denying the faith.
9. Refusal to pay penalties or fines
Whether I am under administrative penalty or by judicial measures, I will not, for the sake of faith and the church, pay one penny of penalty, fine or bail, as the government has no authority to impose a fine on the church for the sake of faith.
— Not much more to add here. I was not faced with this. My brother and I were threatened with a large fine (maximum 10,000 RMB or about $1200 USD) back in 2003 (also in Sichuan Province, by the way), but the police eventually relented and let the “poor American students” go free without a fine. I’m not sure what I would have done if an actual fine had been levied.
10. Refusal to accept the additional penalty of deprivation of political rights
The so-called political rights mainly consist of voting rights, the right to be elected, and the right to hold public office. As a Chinese citizen, I have no such false rights; as a servant of God, neither do I care about my ownership of them. However, the so-called political rights also include freedom of speech, assembly and publishing which involves faith, conscience and the church, just as the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 20 Section 2 says, “God alone is Lord of the conscience.”
The government has no right to deprive the God-given human conscience and freedom to express faith; therefore, I will not accept additional penalty of the so-called deprivation of political rights; as soon as my personal freedom is restored, I will do my utmost to preach the gospel, shepherd or plant churches, write and publish articles, and live out the Great Commission given by the Lord Jesus Christ, until I lose my freedom again.
— The type of penalty that Pastor Wang Yi is referring to here, and refusing to honor, would potentially occur AFTER his release from prison. It would be similar to some sort of parole with restrictions placed on the aforementioned rights of speech, assembly, and publishing.
Here I am reminded of something that happened back in 2003, when my brother and I were being interrogated and investigated. We were eventually released, but were asked to write a declaration that we would not do anything similar (distributing tracts and Bible portions) in China again. We obviously hesitated, but then (taking our high school English lessons to heart) decided to write the statement with a combination of double negatives, effectivly saying that we would definitely do this kind of thing again!
Now my understanding is that Wang Yi most likely would have refused to write such a statement, and been content to suffer the consequences. Much of his purpose it that the police would understand why he is not cooperating (God is Sovereign), while our purpose was to trick the police into releasing us without penalty (no fines, no deportation). If we had done things the Wang Yi way (which I respect), that might have meant an added fine or more hours/days in detention. Looking back, I am honestly not sure what I would do in the same situation today.