"I regret some of the remarks I made to a reporter during my recent trip to China. It’s not my role as an evangelist to suggest that churches in China should register. My role is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ," Palau said in a statement.
The 71-year old seasoned evangelist, who accompanied United States President George W. Bush at a state church service in Beijing in November, told the China Daily news paper that Chinese Christians practicing their faith within the law "enjoy great opportunities to worship openly to sing and to teach the Bible."
He was quoted as saying that "it (the religious freedom) is growing all over China" and that
he had "total freedom to speak at every church and every (religious) gathering" in the country.
"Nobody told me what to say and what not to say," Palau told the paper.
CHINA PRAYERS
In the statement, Palau said however it was his "prayer and desire that working together with all believers in the Lord Jesus we can see religious freedom in China and open doors to publicly proclaim the Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
The evangelist said he had been praying for China since he was sixteen years old and was pleased he had been "permitted to preach in China now for over five years" and that he saw "hundreds come to faith in Jesus Christ." He stressed that "this has been one of the greatest joys" of his "more than 50 years of ministry. I pray these trips are symbolic of changes taking place in China and that these changes lead to greater religious freedom."
Palau said he was "surprised, but honored when asked by President George W. Bush" to join
him "at a Chinese-language worship service in Beijing." Palau added it is "evident that Mr. Bush sees religious freedom as a very important issue concerning China-US relations as he has repeatedly expressed in public."
APOLOGY WELCOMED
In a reaction to BosNewsLife, the US based religious rights group China Aid Association (CAA) said it "welcomes" Palau’s apology. "While we understand Palau’s desire to preach the Gospel in China, we wish Mr. Palau could have pointed the context and location on how and where the Chinese government allowed him to preach," said CAA, which has close contacts with ‘underground’ house churches.
The gatherings of Palau, it said "are all within the government sanctioned church buildings. We
encourage Mr. Palau to continue to push for evangelism in China with true freedom like he has been doing in the USA and other free countries," the group added.
Most of China’s up to 80 million Christians gather in house churches, and many Christians and leaders have been arrested and detained across the country, human rights groups say. The Chinese government has denied religious rights abuses, saying everyone is allowed to practice his or her faith within the boundaries of Chinese law. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from China).
