...Worship under a cross-less roof.
By James Ojo, UNN
 |
| Credits: pressherald.com |
Christains in the city of Wenzhou in Beijing, China, have expressed fear
over this year's Christmas celebration with many of them worshipping under
a cross-less roof.
According to an Associated Press (AP) report, members of a rural
christain congregation in the eastern city of Wenzhou wielded some
pieces of metal into a cross and hoisted it onto the top of their
worship hall to replace the one that was forcibly removed in October.
However, some township officials and uniformed men trooped onto the
church ground and brought down the cross.
In an interview with AP correspondent on Tuesday, a church official
who spoke on condition of anonimity because of fear of government
retaliation said: "They keep a very close watch on us, and there is
nothing we can do".
"The situation is not good as any attempt to re-erect the cross will
be stopped," he added.
Many Christians in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, will
worship this Christmas under a cross-less roof. Provincial authorities
have toppled crosses from more than 400 churches, and even razed some
worship halls in a province-wide crackdown on building code
violations.
Many Christians say their faith has been singled out because
authorities, wary of its rapid growth, are seeking to curb its spread
in a campaign that has targeted China's most thriving Christian
communities.
Estimates of the number of Christians in China range from the
conservative official figure of 23 million to as many as 100 million
by independent scholars, raising the possibility that Christians may
rival in size the 85 million members of the ruling Communist Party.
In August, Beijing rounded up Christian pastors and religious scholars
in a national seminar with the edict that the Christian faith must be
free of foreign influence but "adapt to China," a euphemism for
obeying the Communist Party's rule.
This week, authorities in Wenzhou — known as China's Jerusalem because
it has half of the province's 4,000 churches — have banned all
Christmas celebrations or related activities in the city's
kindergartens and grade schools.
"We had guidance on foreign holidays such as Christmas in the past,
but this year marks the first time we issued a clearer notice," an
education official was quoted as saying in a local, government-run
newspaper on Wednesday.
Churches in Wenzhou and elsewhere in Zhejiang were first told last
year to turn off any spotlights shining on their crosses at night. A
few months later, the congregations were ordered to remove the crosses
or face forced demolitions.
Resistance by local Christians has led to violent protests, bloody
clashes and arrests of pastors and church goers. At least two people —
one pastor and one church goer — remain in police custody for their
acts to defend the cross, said Zhang Kai, a Christian rights lawyer.
When one rural village re-erected a cross in the summer, authorities
put it under a 24-hour watch, which has now gone on for nearly five
months.
"This year's Christmas has been exceptional, as a group of uniformed
men have been helping us move tables, direct traffic, and guard
holiday decorations as well as the front door, the back door, the
warehouse and the sanctuary," church pastor Tao Chongyin wrote on a
social media site.
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