Where Are the Chinese Heading after COVID-19?: A Guide to Bringing Chinese Professionals to God: My Path of Faith

By Lisa

The need for the Chinese to know God is significant, especially after many years of blooming economy and COVID-19 because better material life has not necessarily brought happiness, which led people to seek more of the real meaning of life. Ancient Chinese beliefs, Buddhism, and all other religions are gaining more and more attention in China. It is the opportunity and urgent need that Christians who get in contact with the Chinese boldly and wisely share their faith with the Chinese.

Knowing some Chinese culture and mindset will help Western Christians to better articulate the content and method to share their faith with the Chinese.

In this book, I talked directly to my Chinese friends from what they care the most as career success and connect that to Christian faith. I also talked about Taoism which is a popular ancient Chinese belief and how that is connected with Christian faith. The key method I used in this book is to start the conversation from what Chinese professionals care the most and the philosophy they know about life, and then connect those with Christian faith, turning the direction and steering them toward God.

Chinese culture and methods to bring the Chinese to God do not end here. After this book, I keep gathering the ways to bring the Chinese to God. If you are interested in knowing more, you are very welcome to contact me at the email [e-mail]. I have more information about Chinese culture in the form of PowerPoint presentations and videos. I will be happy to share that information for free. If you also have some experience in bringing the Chinese to God, it will be also wonderful if we can connect.

May God bless His own work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098092948

Book preview

The Purpose of This Book

COVID-19 had a tremendous impact on lives in 2020. Many lost their lives or loved ones. Many suffered mental health issues because of the isolation. Many lost their jobs. Many were worried when they went to work every day.

We heard terms like China virus and kung fu virus. These terms are trying to blame China as the origin of this virus. Blaming helps us to vent the anger, but it won’t help us improve the situation now or in the future. Blaming caused disputes and conflicts between countries and peoples.

When I look back, I ask a question, Is there anything we could have done to make the situation better? The answers might be many. In different stages of the pandemic, there were measures each government should have taken. An important person I want to mention here is Dr. Wenliang Li.

In the beginning of the breakout of COVID-19 in China, Dr. Wenliang Li has reported the virus could spread from human to human in December 2019, but his voice was pushed down by his supervisors and the police department. The police department warned him and even asked him to sign a written warning saying that he was spreading untruthful information on the internet. Wenliang Li died of COVID on February 7, 2020. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51403795). The situation also resulted in the delay of controlling the spread of the virus.

China doesn’t have whistleblower protection laws, and it’s quite common that the supervisor’s opinion overrides the subordinate’s opinion and facts. This situation might happen anywhere in the world, but it can happen more often in China because of the culture.

To urge the Chinese political system to reform and provide whistleblower protection might be one way, but it will be quite hard to achieve. The pressure from the government level, like the US government pressing the Chinese government to reform, is very hard and will be even harder after COVID. Before COVID, many Chinese people didn’t trust the government and longed for Western democracy. During COVID, the Chinese government has successfully controlled the virus and let everyone go back to a normal life much sooner than Western countries, which has brought many Chinese people to believe more in the government and political system of China.

Matt Pottinger (an former American journalist and US marine corps officer who has served as the United States deputy national security adviser since September 22, 2019) delivered a speech to the Chinese people on May 4, 2020. The speech tries to differentiate Chinese people from the Chinese government by saying that the US is against the Chinese government, not the Chinese people. First, the speech was deleted within forty-eight hours from all Chinese websites and apps. Second, the US government’s act of increasing tariff on Chinese products had a solid negative impact on the Chinese people’s daily life, so it’s very hard to deliver the message that the Chinese government is the bad guy and the Chinese people should work against that bad guy. Instead, all Chinese media are controlled by the government. All Chinese media are talking against the US since August 2019 or even earlier. So more Chinese people believe the US is the bad guy than they believe the Chinese government is the bad guy.

During the Hong Kong riot in the beginning of 2020 which started with the protest against the extradition bill from the Chinese government, the riot has created mass destruction of Hong Kong’s daily life. The destruction eventually made the society unstable and everyday life very difficult for normal people. After several months of turbulence, Hong Kong accepted the national security law from the Chinese government in June of 2020.

In the US starting in May 2020, riots starting with the protests against cruel police practice on Black people lasted for several months, which also brought looting and vandalism.

Protesting is the right thing to do in both situations; but for some reason, both of the above situations ended up with riots of looting and vandalism, which are very destructive for any country or society. Influencing a government by rioting seems very difficult and has a huge negative impact on normal people’s lives as we have witnessed in 2020 in both China and the US.

There is another way we can influence people. People generally have the same needs no matter which country they live in: making a living, raising children, educating children, and pursuing happiness. Everyone, no matter where he/she is, will encounter difficulties in life. When we associate with others in helping them to solve problems or achieve what they want, it is an opportunity for us to build a close/trustworthy relationship with them. That relationship can also open the door for us to share with them our Christian faith. If they can accept the Christian faith, the values in them will change, which will result in behavior changes. Just like Dr. Wenliang Li’s supervisor, if he was a Christian, he would have had a humbler attitude toward Dr. Li’s professional opinion or science facts. That might have resulted in a very different outcome.

After COVID-19, what will the relationship of people in the US and people in China be like? As I have seen right now, the Chinese government is promoting things against the US in their media, and we are talking about China virus in the US. The relationship doesn’t seem too optimistic. I also ask another question: What does God want? What God wants has never changed. He wants to bring his lost children back to him no matter where the children are—in China or in the US. I have lived in China until I was thirty-four. I have witnessed many Chinese people’s daily lives and known they need God urgently. After I came to the US in 2011, I have been working to bring Chinese people to God. In 2019 when I went back to China, by meeting with many Chinese friends, I saw the need was increasing. More and more Chinese professionals are encountering nonmonetary difficulties in life. Counseling and support groups are needed more and more. I also saw that the Chinese are still eager to learn English. With the above needs of Chinese, I still see the need and opportunity for American people or Westerners to build positive relationships with Chinese people.

The purpose of this book is to provide Westerners, who have the opportunity to associate with Chinese people in any capacity, some views of why Chinese people need God and how to connect the values of the Bible to specific needs, culture, and understandings of the Chinese.

I first wrote this book in 2012 in Chinese to share with everyone I care about. I wrote it not to persuade people to join religion but with the simplest and most sincere idea—I have got a good thing, and I want to share it with everyone I love. After I finished the book in 2012, I gave this book (Chinese version) out for free to friends and family members and have received positive feedbacks.

What I wrote in this book is talking about why I became a Christian. Because I grew up in China right after China’s reform and opening up and I entered the workforce in China in the late 1990s, my thinking can relate to many professional Chinese. The way I wrote this book is like talking to Chinese friends from their point of view; thus, it contains many typical Chinese mindset, customs, and situations which can be helpful for Westerners to find the right way to bring Chinese people to God. Related Chinese mindset, customs, and situations parts are underlined for easy reference. Those may also state how Americans or Westerners are different.

Some content in this book regarding the Bible and Christian faith might already be familiar to American/Western Christians. The reason they are still here is because originally, this book was written for the unbelieving Chinese. It can be a reference for American/Western Christians to understand, from a Chinese Christian’s point of view, what is important to tell his/her fellow unbelieving Chinese in order to bring them to God. Bible verses I cited are mostly from https://www.biblegateway.com/.

Chinese culture and methods to bring the Chinese to God do not end here. After this book, I keep gathering the ways to bring the Chinese to God. If you are interested in knowing more, you are very welcome to contact me at the email [e-mail]. I have more information about Chinese culture in the form of PowerPoint presentations and videos. I will be happy to share that information for free. If you also have some experience in bringing the Chinese to God, it will be also wonderful that we can connect.

May God bless His own work and reap in the biggest field!

Way to Success 1—Focus

Focus

Ever since I came into contact with training at the company at the age of twenty-four, I have been observing and learning The Way to Success. At that time, I was in charge of training in the company. Training was a module that the company attached great importance to. The general manager was constantly learning and actively practicing what he had learned in the company. In other words, there were a lot of innovative initiatives in the company at that time, and I was an important member of it. Two years later, the manager of the admin and HR department resigned, and the general manager intended to elect one of his four subordinates to replace the admin and HR manager. Because I had the leading role in many important initiatives, two of my peers and I agreed that there was a great opportunity for me to be chosen for that position. But the final result was unexpected. He chose his secretary, who had only a two-year degree and had only worked for two years, to take over as the manager of the admin and HR department.

When I first heard the news, I felt very angry and discouraged. I had lunch with my peers and complained that the general manager was blind and even speculated whether there was any shameful secret in it. The next step was to be passive and uncooperative. After working this way for a few months, I started to feel something went wrong because I used to love work and I could get a lot of satisfaction and happiness from it; but now, because of not doing well at the job, the satisfaction and happiness had disappeared. I struggled and finally realized that what I loved was my job and, no matter who was the manager, I could still do what I liked. Why bother about it? Besides, not becoming a manager now does not mean that I will not have a chance to become a manager in the future. But if I don’t work hard and waste time and my ability does not improve, this would be the biggest loss. After I realized this, my behavior underwent a 180-degree change, and I regained my previous active attitude. The change in attitude has brought about changes in behavior and results. The most unexpected thing for me was that one day I sat across the executive desk with the general manager and had a conversation with him. When the conversation came to my work performance, he actually stood up (I also stood up), shook my hand, and said, Thank you! I clearly saw the tears in his eyes. I was shocked and moved. Not long after that, he removed the secretary from the managerial position and gave it to me. At that time, I was twenty-six years old.

Since then, I have learned an important way to success: focus on what you are interested in, which can also benefit others, and promotion and salary increments will follow. There is a relationship between goal and result. Focus refers to goals—setting one’s goals to do good deeds/jobs. The position and salary are the results. In other words, we are moving toward the goal of doing things/work well, and such behavior will naturally bring jobs and money.

Things that can bring benefits to others is also an important point. Think about all jobs and all businesses in society and what exists if it doesn’t bring value (benefits) to others (customers).

In my work afterward, this truth has been continuously verified. I have observed that many star employees of the company who are valued by the leaders have this trait in them—focusing on their duties and tasks. And because of their focus, they are not limited by the already-established rules, which were made by others, and can put forward better, novel, and effective propositions. It is also shown in the interviews. An interviewee who is focused on things does not need to flatter the interviewer with a smile. More often, he/she (below I will just use he to represent both genders) does not smile too much because he concentrates on recollecting past experience to describe the situation, problems, his own ideas, and practices. This is especially true when interviewing for technical positions in China. It can be viewed that the number one focus of the interviewee is not on how to leave a good impression on the interviewer but on the job and the expression. My point here is to say that focus is the first priority, and leave a good impression is the second but is also important.

Focus is also reflected in many leaders/managers. Many employees complain that the leaders are micromanaging. Micromanaging means that he pays great attention to details. And this is precisely because of the focus of the leaders. They used to be excellent employees who focused on things to make it perfect. This is an important reason why they were promoted. According to the behavioral reinforcement theory (doing something in a certain way; therefore, winning an award will increase their motivation to use the same method), they will naturally adopt a focused approach again and ask their subordinates to do the same. Regarding whether such management style is right or wrong or under what circumstances it can be used, that is another topic, not the focus of what we need to talk about here. The point here is focus is one of the ways to success.

That is the conclusion I reached through my own experience and observation before I knew Christ and after knowing Christ when I read the following verses: So don’t worry and say: ‘What to eat? What to drink? What to wear?’ This is what the Gentiles asked for. Your heavenly Father knows everything you need. You must first seek his kingdom and his righteousness, and these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:31–33).

This is exactly what the aforementioned way to success is. The kingdom of the Father and His righteousness means that we love and benefit one another. Seek of course means going after a goal. That is to say you must first move toward the goal of benefiting one another. Whatever you want, what you eat, drink, and wear, the Father will give you as a result.

What the Bible says about benefiting others includes a lot of values we bring to customers in our work, but it’s much more than that. There are more truths, goodness, and beauty in it. This is also the reason why many nonprofit organizations in the United States/world can exist and their employees are treated well. Not detailed here.

On this topic, here is my friend’s response:

After reading your shared article, I also thought of the book Built to Last by Jim Collins that I had read before, which compared many of the world’s first-tier companies with second-tier companies, and then summarized it. Those second-tier companies often aim at chasing profits, but in the end, they are much less profitable than the first-tier companies. While these first-tier companies often have some goals beyond profits, such as pharmaceutical companies set to change life and bring health are the ultimate goal, the difference will be manifested in some key events. Profits for these first-tier companies are only a by-product of pursuing these goals that are valuable to customers. This is also true in personal life. (Betty)

Way to Success 2—Obey

Obey

One of the problems that we often encounter in the workplace is "My opinion is different from that of the boss. What should I do, and how do I deal with it? This is also a question that many recruiters like to ask. The correct answer is before the matter is decided, I will tell the boss my opinion. If he buys into it, of course, it is great. If he does not agree with it, I will still try my best and do everything according to his decision. This is an important idea that needs to be instilled in every employee. Why? Because if this is not the case, just like a boat, the crew on it paddles in different directions. Can the boat move forward? It can only spin around. Managers in an enterprise have rights and responsibilities. They must have the right to make decisions, decide what to do, and employees need to obey his decisions so as to maximize the ability of the entire team to move in a certain direction. This direction or this method may be incorrect, but at least all of them are going in the same direction. Otherwise, the team is not going anywhere and won’t even know what the wrong way is. Subordinates are only responsible for whether they have done things in the direction and method required by the managers. Managers will take responsibility for whether this direction is correct or not and whether this method is effective. Only with this method, a company can have order and move forward.

Employees need to obey and follow. This is why many managers, when recruiting subordinates, obedience is an important aspect they are looking for. (This is especially true in Chinese culture. We are educated to obey the authority of teachers, parents, and bosses since childhood.) Besides complying with the company’s strategy, the direction, and the objectives, it is also more common in China that subordinates need to comply with the supervisor’s personal preference.

As for my own experience mentioned above where the secretary was promoted to being the manager, later on I realized that the reason for her promotion was that the general manager did not have time to take care of human resources function during his regular eight hours at work. He can only discuss with us about human resources after the working hours. This was caused by the situation of the company at that time, and the general manager liked to work overtime. He also believed that the human resource department is secondary to the other departments. I didn’t like to work overtime, while the secretary did. During after hours, when the general manager thought of anything about human resource, he can only talk to the secretary. That’s why the general manager felt that I was not communicating well with him. After understanding this I decided to improve my communication with him. In that situation, I had to change my habit to accommodate him, which would also contribute to my promotion eventually.

When I was exploring these things, I discovered the relationship between up and down and leadership and obedience/following is so important. Then let us look at natural science again.

All nature sciences are based on discovering existing laws and applying them. The changes of the four seasons, the changes of atmospheric clouds and rain, the growth laws of crops, the center gravity of the earth, the laws of physics, the laws of chemical reactions—these laws already existed before we knew them. And what science does is to get to know them and follow the laws to guide our production and life. If we don’t follow these laws, what will happen? Things won’t succeed. Therefore, the relationship between up and down and leadership and submission/compliance is in it. Conversely, can we humans, or science, lead the laws of nature? We can say, Ah, don’t rain today and Please no earthquake. Will nature listen to us?

When I see the laws of nature and the laws of the operation of human society—as large as the change of dynasties, the rise and fall of political power, the laws of company operation, the laws of group operation and as small as the maintenance of family relationships and personal physical and mental health condition—all these make me feel as if there is an invisible hand behind this world, a kind of power governing all the laws. As for what