ABSTRACT
On 11May 2006, three Chinese men – two lawyers and a writer – met with the then
American President George Bush for a prayer meeting at the White House. The
meeting was facilitated by a Chinese American pastor based in Texas, who enjoys
close connections in Washington. The meeting drew considerable attention from
Western media, and it turned the spotlight onto an until then relatively little-known
fact: that some of the most outspoken critics of the Chinese government today
approach their political activities with deep religious conviction. The political
activities of this group of Christian individuals have gone far beyond theoretical or
polemical writings; some were close to Liu Xiaobo and are among the first
signatories of Charter 08, others are lawyers, who have been involved in the most
high-profile and controversial legal cases in recent years. Their activities will be
dealt with in more detail in the next chapter of this book.
