Colloquium : The Sufferings and Redemption of Chinese Female Activists

It has long been noticed that many Chinese activists are Christians. They either became activists as Christians, or converted to Christianity after participating in social and/or political movements. In either case, they are very likely to experience coercion and persecution by the government for their participation, thus thrown into the dilemma between divine justice and political justice: Can a victim/survivor forgive the oppressor(s) even if the latter do(es) not repent? The answer must be accordant with the Bible; however, it must be persuasive to non-believers as well. This is not an easy task. Female activists usually have to suffer more than state violence: they may encounter sexual violence as well as violence of public opinion, sometimes from both sides. Therefore, the dilemma for female Christian activists is even sharper and more complicated. In this research, I would like to discuss the sufferings and redemption of Chinese female activists by focusing on Chai Ling’s “I Forgive Them”, which has arisen wild critique since it was delivered in 2012.