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the responses are very specifi c and
lengthy. Otten a forum will go on for
severa! pages of type, five columns lo a
page of the tabloid-size newspaper.
Thus while members are fully aware
of the trips, their meaning and their cost.
the state of California is not; those
entrusted with enforcing the laws insist
on viewing the missionary journeys of
Herbert Armstrong and his staff and the
money spent on them as the travel
expenses of a business firm .
Church members know, as the state
should have recognized had it done its
even minimal homework, that the travels
could no more be considerad a corpo–
rate operating expense than the jour–
neys of Pope John Paulll. In the eyes of
the members, lo cease such activities
would mean no less than forfeiting the
Church's spiritual legitimacy, and ceas–
ing lo be a viable Church of Jesus Christ
as they understand it and want it. For
the members, a more paternalistic intru–
sion could scarcely have been designed
than to attack, as the state's lawsuit has
done, Herbert Armstrong's personal
work lo make the world ready for the
coming of Christ in power and glory, as
if it were some kind of extravagance
cooked up in the executive suite of a
corporate enterprise to take advantage
of the stockholders!
BEHIND THE BAMBOO
CURTAIN
Finding an Entryway
Preaching the Gospel of the coming
Kingdom of God to all the world surely
could not be accomplished until an
effective means could be found to reach
one entire fourth of that world, the
inhabitants of the People's Republic of
China.
The Work made several efforts to
bring the message to the diverse Chinese
population during the years of its isolation
from the rest of the community of nations,
begun in 1949 alter Chiang Kai-shek had
been toppled by the Communists. For a
number of years, we broadcast from
Taiwan, then called Formosa, where
Chiang and his Nationalist torces had
12
HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG
and Stan/ey R. Rader meet with China 's vice minister of
education in a visit to the People's Republic of China in 1979.
taken refuge. Some of our message
undoubtedly went through, but we could
never be certain of how much.
For a long time, we had been seeking
a way to take the commission directly
behind the Bamboo Curtain to this vast
and populous country whose borders
were shut tightly to Westerners. How
could we gel inside, how allay the dark
suspicions of the Chinese leaders
toward virtually everyone and everything
beyond its boundaries?
Finding an entryway into the wary
country was a lengthy and difficult task
that took almos! a full decade. The
story of how it was al last accomplished
is, in a capsule, the story of how the
Church manages to fulfil l its God–
directed mission.
1t
involves drama,
high-level personages from widely di–
verse nations, seemingly insurmounta–
ble roadblocks, and, above all else, the
intervention of Divine Providence.
Our China experience started in India
in 1970 at a dinner in Herbert Arm–
strong's honor at the home of Dr.
Nagendra Singh, then the secretary
general of the office of Presiden! V.V.
Giri, and who later became one of the
justices of the lnternational Court of
Justice at The Hague. As an advocate
for world peace through law, Dr. Singh
admired Herbert Armstrong and, as the
years went on, came to love him even
though he himself was a devout Hindu.
Later Dr. Singh was lo introduce Mr.
Armstrong to política! and thought lead–
ers in many nations, and even hosted
both a lunch and dinner in the pastor
general's honor at The Hague itself .
At Dr. Singh 's home that evening, we
met the Ethiopian ambassador to India,
Mekasha Getachew, who was im–
pressed by Mr. Armstrong and indicated
a strong interest in having us visit his
country. An invitation followed, a visit
was scheduled and in 1973 Mr. Arm–
strong flew into Addis Ababa.
At that time in world history, Ethiopia
was closer to China than perhaps any
other country. Chou En-lai, premier of
the People's Republic, was deeply
indebted to Emperor Haile Selassie and
to Ambassador Getachew, because
when Chou went lo Africa a decade
before, Ethiopia was the only nation that
would allow him lo land and refuel. The
arrangements had been made by Geta–
chew. Alter that inciden!, Chou showed
his gratitude by allowing Getachew l o
visit China on a number of occasions.
Before long, air routes had been
opened up between the two nations.
Having come to one of the few
countries with close ties to China was
fortunate enough. Yet there was more
to come.
Al a dinner in Mr. Armstrong's honor
in the Ethiopian capital , we found our–
selves seated next to a tan, portly man.
As dean of the ambassadorial corps,
protocol called for him to be seated at
the head table. He was I.T. Wen,
ambassador of the People's Republic of
China to Ethiopia. He spoke English
perfectly and, lo cap the series of
providential occurrences, had relativas
in Los Angeles!
The upshot of this meeting? Wen,
impressed with Mr. Armstrong's talk
The PLAIN TRUTH