(slightly abridged)

  1. We call on the government to admit God's great power and to take account of the new growth of Christianity in this generation.

  2. We call on the authorities to release unconditionally all house-church Christians now serving in labor-reform camps. . . . All those imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel should be released.

  3. The approximately 10 million members of Three-Self churches and the 80 million believers who worship in house churches are all part of mainstream Christianity in China. The 22 million people of Taiwan can no more represent mainland China's 1.2 billion than the Three-Self church can represent all Chinese Christians.

  4. We call on the central leadership of the Chinese Communist party to begin a dialogue with representatives of the house church in an attempt to reach mutual understanding, to achieve reconciliation, to lessen confrontation, and to begin an open-hearted exchange.

  5. The definition of "cult" must be spelled out. It should reflect international standards and not whether people attend or don't attend Three-Self churches.

  6. We call on the legal authorities to cease their attack on the house churches. History has proved that attacks on Christians who fervently preach the Gospel only bring harm to China and its government.

  7. The Chinese house church is a channel through which God's blessing comes to China. The persecution of God's children blocks this channel of blessing.

    Henan, August 22, 1998