Protestantism in China useslianghui (simplified Chinese:两会;traditional Chinese:兩會;pinyin:Liǎnghuì;Wade–Giles:Liang3 Hui4;lit. 'two meetings') to speak of the two Chinese government-sanctioned Protestant organizations: theThree-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and theChina Christian Council (CCC). Due to the close relationship between these two organizations, they are sometimes mistaken as the same organization.
Beginning in the 1980s, both associations were simultaneously headed byK. H. Ting (丁光訓, 1915–2012), an ordainedAnglicanBishop ofZhejiang in 1955 (prior to the absorption of all Anglican and other Protestant denominational churches into the TSPM). He would retire from both positions at the 6th National Christian Conference, where he addressed the delegates on 29 December 1996.
The TSPM and CCC together form the constituent organizations of theNational Conference of Chinese Protestant Churches.[1] The distinctive roles of the TSPM and CCC are hard to distinguish due to overlaps but both organizations maintain separate Standing Committees.
The administrative structure of thelianghui is diagrammed as follows:
The TSPM and CCC jointly administer the following ministries:[2]
There are large numbers ofChinese house churches in China which are outside of the registered organizations.[3]
Together, the TSPM and CCC claims a total of between 9.8 million to 13.5 million Protestant Christians in China.[4]
The TSPM and CCC are viewed with suspicion and distrust by some Christians both within and outside China. Some claim the TSPM to be a tool of theChinese Communist Party to control and regulate the expression of Christianity.[5][better source needed] As a result, many groups refuse to deal with the TSPM or CCC and there exists a large unregisteredHouse Church movement in China with some claiming that it serves the large majority ofProtestant Christians in China.[6]
There are allegations of regular and systematicpersecution against Christians associated with the House Church movement and other unregistered Christian organizations in China.[7]
Roman Catholicism in China useslianghui, oryihuiyituan (一会一团 or "one association and one conference"), referring to theChinese Patriotic Catholic Association (中国天主教爱国会) and theBishops Conference of Catholic Church in China (中国天主教主教团). These two state-approved Catholic organizations do not accept theprimacy of the Roman Pontiff, in contrast to theChinese Catholic Bishops Conference (天主教台灣地區主教團) in Taiwan.
