The World Council of Churches' General Secretary, Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, has concluded his tour of China on 22 November 2006.

|PIC1|Leading an ecumenical delegation, Kobia publicly affirmed that, "it is in the best interests of the government to actually expand the space for the practice of religion".

The WCC general secretary said he had been impressed by the way in which Christian communities are growing in the country, and by the enabling and safe environment in which Christians practice their faith.

He encouraged the government to ensure wider participation and involvement of religious people in efforts to bring about the Chinese vision of a "harmonious society".

"It would be detrimental to the government if it is not seen to be providing freedom of religion," he said.

"If China wants to be the kind of global player that it is clearly becoming, then there are norms and standards" in terms of religious freedom "which will be expected of its government, and I think they are aware of this," he said.

On 22 November, Kobia and members of an ecumenical delegation visited the Dong Zhou Children's Village in San Yuan County, Shaanxi Province.

They spent time with 29 children under the age of 14 whose parents are in prison, or were executed or unable to meet their basic needs.

"Although the parents of these children paid for their own crimes, their children are innocent," an official told the delegation.

The Village, which is supported by the Amity Foundation, the Shaanxi Christian Council and the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), aims to provide a healthy environment and protect the children from becoming child labourers, garbage collectors, street children or from falling into illegal activities.

The official praised the role played by Christians in supporting the Village in order to help "these children who should have lived a life like those growing up happily with their families".

"Love, education and hope are the three words that characterise what I have seen here," Kobia told the staff and supporters of the Village.

"This project was born out of an active, practical love. And when the children feel loved and have been given education and training here, then they have hope for the future. There is no better gift that this community can give to these children than hope," Kobia said.

The delegation was moved by the response of a 9-year-old girl who expressed gratitude on behalf of the children.

On the previous day, Kobia visited the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and addressed a group of scholars.

Dr Zhuo Xinping, and other scholars affiliated with the Academy, who focus their research on a wide variety of specialisations within Christianity, engaged in dialogue with Kobia and members of the delegation.

The WCC general secretary presented an overview of the changing landscape of Christianity today.

The ecumenical delegation accompanying the WCC general secretary on his visit 15 to 22 November to China was composed of Rev Dr Tyrone Pitts (WCC central committee member, general secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, USA); Rev Dr Seong-Won Park (WCC central committee member, from the Presbyterian Church of Korea, South Korea); Rev Fr Gabriel Papanicolaou (ecumenical officer of the Church of Greece), Dr Mathews George Chunakara, (WCC Asia secretary) and, as consultants, Dr Monika Gaenssbauer (director of the China Study Project of the Protestant churches and mission agencies in Germany) and Rev Deborah DeWinter (WCC programme executive for the United States).