Bush speaks out in China

AP PHOTO/Gerald Herbert  Accompanied by Pastor Jian-An, President Bushmakes remarks after attending church at the Beijing Kuanjie Protestant Christian Church during his visit to the 2008 Summer Olympic games in Beijing, China on Aug. 10.

I saw Pres. Bush’s interview Sunday with Bob Costas, NBC Olympics commentator, in Beijing.

The  president said he had attended a state-sanctioned church during his visit to China. My ears perked up when he said he has suggested that Chinese officials  register underground house churches like they do state-sanctioned churches.

Bush’s comments to Costas more than hinted around religion — they really seemed to center around that theme.

In last week’s interview about the Voice of the Martyrs’ China prayer bracelets,  Todd Nettleton, Voice of the Martyrs director of media development, said state-sanctioned Christian churches are those that the Chinese government allows to operate, thus the government has final say about who can preach there and what they can and cannot preach about.