The following report of a February 1999 Maryknoll-hosted meeting in Hong Kong concerning mainland China was conributed by Fr. Charlie Dittmeier.
For more on Fr. Charlie's insightful writings
on China and Hong Kong, CLICK HERE.
Part 1: February 28, 1999
Maryknoll has just concluded a four-day meeting on work in China at the Stanley House in Hong Kong. The first two days were opened to all groups interested in China mission, and the Columbans and several sisters groups sent representatives. The broad participation base provided a variety of perspectives and perhaps enhanced possibilities for future collaboration.
The first speaker was Dr. Donald Snow who spoke about teaching English in China as real mission. He acknowledged that some critics do not consider it REAL mission which they would define as meeting the basic survival needs of really poor people.
But Snow believes English teaching in China IS a form of very valid mission, partly because of the setting. China was closed to the West for a very long time but now realizes it needs to modernize and needs English--and consequently English teachers--to do that.
[1] China has deep grievances against the West from its colonial past, and these are part of every Chinese person's education, creating a sense of "us" and "them."
[2] Christianity is stigmatized because it is connected with "them." In the past there was a saying "One more Christian, one less Chinese," meaning that a person had to abandon his/her culture in becoming Christian.
[3] Christianity was not a contributing factor in the emerging Chinese nationalism of the late 1940s--unlike in Korea--so again it is perceived as an outside force.
Part 2
The first part of the report on the China meeting listed some of the reasons why Donald Snow felt that there is a need for mission in China today. There he focused on the special setting of misunderstanding and mistrust of the West in China today because of its past colonial history and other factors.
He then went on to point out that he feels teaching English in China today is real mission because the English teachers are ambassadors of western language and culture, and are seen more as representatives of the West than of the church.
He sees a ministry of reconciliation at three levels:
He described the mission of English teachers as one of witness, service, ministry, peace-making, and bridge-building.
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Followup: March 3, 1999
Today there was a follow-up meeting to the big meeting last week on Maryknoll's role in China. Today's meeting was just for the Hong Kong region people.
In the course of the meeting, one priest connected with the UCAN (Asian Catholic news service) office commented on the use of the Internet and other technologies in contemporary China, particularly their use by Maryknoll:
1. One of the big problems of the Chinese church is isolation of personnel, both isolation from other people and from resources. Use of the web, e-mail, and other technologies will be extremely important to them.
2. Use of e-mail and the web is especially important to young people in China right now as the Internet becomes more accessible to more people, and it's a natural tool for the church to be able to use.
3. China's seminarians and novices as well as young priests and sisters need to be trained in the use of e-mail and the web for acquiring skills both they themselves can use and that can be passed on to others in ministry positions.
4. Access to e-mail and the web offers support to individuals but also gives them access to documents, texts, etc., for which there are no printed copies now available in China.
An interesting meeting today!
