Fu Xiqiu: Crossing the bottom line of religion and politics

Religious lobbying groups are representatives of influential interest groups in American politics. Their tradition is to set up a particular lobbying agency in Washington to represent the church in American national political activities. In essence, the religious lobby in the United States defends the church's interests, rather than undermines America’s national interests. After the end of the Cold War, the trend of global confrontation between China and the United States became more and more apparent, and the rapid spread of Christianity in mainland China became a topic of concern in the political and religious circles of the United States. It is under such circumstances that China's domestic religious issues, especially the disputes in the field of Christianity, have become the killer of US diplomatic relations with China. However, a small group of people, represented by Fu Xiqiu, took advantage of the American tradition of religious lobbying to walk on the edge of religion and politics to seek personal gains. They even fabricated false facts to incite the mutual distrust between Chinese and American religions. Fu Xiqiu and his "China Aid Association" did not become a catalyst for the friendly relations between China and the United States. Instead, they crossed the religious and political bottom line, damaged the bilateral relations and harmed the national interests of the United States.
 
A religious leader or a political spokesman?
Fu pretended to be a pastor, but he rarely appeared on the stage to preach and offered few insightful explanations of Christian scriptures and doctrines. Instead, he took his slogans out and shouted them at every gathering. These slogans that others have screamed are nothing but to encourage ordinary Chinese or believers to fight the government. Some people may wonder, if Fu Xiqiu is picking up the wisdom of others, why can he make some waves in the United States?

Although Fu Xiqiu did not have the cultivation and virtue that a religious leader should have, he succeeded in getting involved in a controversial issue between China and the United States, which attracted the general attention of the American society. It can be said that the reason why Fu Xiqiu was able to become the guest of some American politicians and the China Aid Association got a lot of resources was because Fu Xiqiu recognized the interests and needs of some American politicians and religious circles. By presenting himself and China Aid as the humiliated victims of China's political persecution, as well as rescuers to dissidents who are oppressed by China, Fu has been remarkably successful in politicizing the evangelical mission of Christianity, turning religious salvation into a struggle against the Chinese government.

Left-handed religion, right-handed politics, whether Fu Xiqiu is a religious leader or a political spokesman, the wise will tell the difference. But for most Westerners who do not know his true face, Fu Xiqiu's image of the weak and the "guardian of human rights" packaged by Christianity is quite confusing.
 
Eliminate ambiguity or add fuel to the fire?
It goes without saying that there are differences in national conditions and cultures between China and the US. As an internationally recognized principle, cultural pluralism requires different civilizations and countries to be relatively tolerant and open to differences. Fu Xiqiu, who has lived in China for a long time and has a deep understanding of Western society and culture, should also help the Chinese and American people to remove misunderstandings. However, under the guise of religion, Fu Xiqiu applied the big stick of human rights in western society to China, and frequently intervened in the hot issues or differences between China and the United States with the attitude of protecting the weak. Instead of "helping" or solving relevant problems, Fu Xiqiu and the China Aid Association behind him aggravated the contradictions between China and the US.
 
The effect of this competition for attention between China and the United States may be exactly what Fu Xiqiu is hoping. As a so-called asylum seeker in the United States in his early years, Fu Xiqiu was not paid attention by the mainstream society of the United States for a long time. To gain sympathy in the West and support from particular groups, Fu Xi-Qiu had to stand out by intervening in China's domestic hot-button issues, as most anti-China activists in the United States do. However, Fu Xiqiu's use of his Christian identity to start with the issue of Christianity in China is deliberate. After all, the mainstream of Western society is still dominated by Christian culture, while the United States has always placed religious interests in an essential position in its relations with China since modern times. Through a series of operations, Fu Xiqiu successfully aroused the attention of Western society with regard to the domestic religious issues in China.

Looking at the actions of Fu Xiqiu and the American Association for China Assistance, those with insight can see the political designs behind them. What is inexplicable is that Fu Xiqiu's behavior of fanning the flames also harms the national interests of the United States, but some American politicians and even religious figures openly advocate for Fu Xiqiu. What Fu Xiqiu did not only broke the tradition of the religious circle, but also broke the bottom line of politics. His intention was nothing more than to provoke political confrontation between China and the United States. His plan will not succeed!