God's Double Agent

September 23, 2013
Fu was raised by a mother who begged for food in Chinese country villages during Mao Zedong's "Great Leap Forward." He became a Christian while he was in university, participating in both civil and religious revolts, including the Tiananmen Square student movement. He taught Communist government leaders even while also operating an underground house church movement. Fu and his wife Heidi conceived a child without a pregnancy permitâhe calls it an act of "civil disobedience in the bedroom"âbut having a child and being harassed for evangelism (proselytizing is unlawful in China, although Christianity is not) eventually caused the couple to flee to Hong Kong. From there, President Bill Clinton granted political and religious asylum and a visa to the United States, where they now live. Fu continues to help Chinese dissidents; he details dramatic rescues, including that of his father from Bangkok International Airport that's straight out of a spy novel. For understanding the dramatic and courageous role of underground Christian movements in China, this is a must-read.

November 15, 2013
Bob Fu may not be a household name, but he's often the man behind the headline-making stories of Chinese dissidents leaving the mainland. Most recently, he lobbied the U.S. and other Western governments to assist blind-activist Chen Guangcheng, who, in a harrowing tale, managed to escape house arrest and elude Chinese authorities before seeking refuge in the U.S. embassy in Beijing. Fu, like the dissidents he's helped, fled mainland China nearly 20 years ago. This book recounts his own harrowing tale of persecution for, among other things, leading a group of fellow university students to join the protests in Tiananmen Square and, after embracing Christianity, attending an underground church. After settling in the U.S., Fu started ChinaAid, an organization that provides legal assistance and support to pastors, political dissidents, and couples resisting China's one-child policy. Not simply an inspiring tale of someone with the courage to risk everything for his beliefs, this book is a reminder that religious persecution not only persists in the world today but is at times a matter of state policy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)