BEIJING, China (WordNews.org)  dec. 19, 2012  — The Communist Party Central Committee’s s secret documents detailing how to crackdown on evangelism on college and university campuses have been obtained by the Christian organization ChinaAid.

The document uses war-like terms, refers to evangelists as “hostile forces” and evangelism as an effort to “infiltrate China.”

The document confirms that China’s leadership, at the highest levels, are behind the rise in Christian persecution in recent years, ChinaAid said.

There are just 8,330 copies of the document, which were distributed by the Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council. Dated May 15, 2011, it is titled: “Suggestions for doing a good job of resisting foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education and preventing campus evangelism.” It is also known as Document 18.

ChinaAid said it was written by China’s ministries of education, public security, state security and foreign affairs, along with the State Administration of Religious Affairs, and the United Front Work Committee.

The document uses the word “religion” but is clearly referring to Christianity, ChinaAid said, and it labels the United States as leading the evangelistic efforts on college campuses.

“With China’s rapid economic and social development and the steady growth of China’s comprehensive national strength, … [f]oreign hostile forces have put even greater emphasis on using religion to infiltrate China to carry out their political plot to westernize and divide China,” the document said. “Foreign forces regard institutes of higher education as key targets for using religion, Christianity in particular, for infiltration.”

The document calls the job of resisting the “infiltration” and preventing campus evangelism “important to the fate of the country and the fate of the people; it has important and far-reaching implications.”

The document also states:

*  “The goal of foreign use of religion to infiltrate institutes of higher education is not just to expand religious influence but even more to vie with us for our young people, our next generation.”

* “The real harm and the long-term effects … must not be underestimated, and forceful measures must be taken to respond actively and effectively,”

ChinaAid said the document’s authenticity has been confirmed by the respected Sinologist Andrew Nathan, a political science professor at Columbia University and co-editor of The Tiananmen Papers, a compilation of secret documents about the military crackdown on the 1989 student pro-democracy movement.

“It is absolutely laughable to suggest that there is such a thing as American-led religious infiltration as alluded to by the top leadership of China,” said ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu said. “We call upon the new leadership in China to reject this outdated Cold War-era mentality and these religious policies. Religious freedom will only enhance the moral vigor of Chinese society through a more mature civil society in which both conscience and the rule of law operate.”