{"id":183449,"date":"2015-05-08T15:06:12","date_gmt":"2015-05-08T22:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=183449"},"modified":"2016-03-08T16:30:20","modified_gmt":"2016-03-09T00:30:20","slug":"zhejiang-issues-draft-regulation-on-church-crosses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2015\/05\/zhejiang-issues-draft-regulation-on-church-crosses\/","title":{"rendered":"Draft Regulation on Church Crosses Issued in Zhejiang"},"content":{"rendered":"
After\u00a0a series of church demolitions and cross removals<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Zhejiang Province over the past two years,\u00a0officials have been\u00a0accused of engaging in a regional crackdown on Christianity<\/a>.\u00a0While a leaked document last May revealed the regulation of “overly popular” forms of worship<\/a>\u00a0to be a provincial policy goal, local authorities have\u00a0denied allegations of a\u00a0campaign against Christianity<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0a\u00a0region\u00a0where\u00a0the religion has a long history<\/a>, and where it has recently seen rapid spread. The New York Times reports on a provincial draft regulation issuing\u00a0guidelines that crosses\u00a0must be displayed inconspicuously<\/strong><\/a>, and indicating that prominent crosses will likely continue to face\u00a0removal:<\/p>\n In painstaking detail, the 36-page directive sets out strict guidelines for where and how churches in Zhejiang can display crosses. They must be placed on the facades of buildings, not above them. They must be of a color that blends into the building, not one that stands out. And they must be small: no more than one-tenth the height of the building\u2019s facade.<\/p>\n […]\u00a0Christianity, which was strictly controlled in China during the first decades of Communist rule, began to flourish after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, as the officially atheist party relaxed its grip on society.\u00a0Some estimates<\/a>\u00a0now put the number of Chinese faithful at more than 100 million, far more than when foreign missionaries and priests were expelled after the Communist takeover in 1949. Many churches are sanctioned by the government, but others operate outside the official sphere.<\/p>\n But since President Xi Jinping rose to the top party and government posts starting in 2012, there has been a new focus on reining in foreign influences that are seen as threatening the party\u2019s grip on power.<\/p>\n […]\u00a0The new draft regulation goes into great detail about the architectural limitations to be placed on Zhejiang churches \u2014 detail that sometimes recall, presumably unintentionally, the directives found in the Old Testament for building tabernacles and temples. [… [Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Last month pastor Huang Yizi, detained last August<\/a> after defending crosses in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, was sentenced to one year in prison<\/a>.\u00a0The razing of churches and removal of crosses in Zhejiang has come\u00a0as the Xi administration is engaged in campaigns to control minority religions<\/a>, to counter “Western influence,”<\/a> and to reinforce ideological orthodoxy across the Party and society at large<\/a>, but no explicit central policy on Zhejiang churches has yet been revealed<\/a>.\u00a0(Beijing has, however, announced plans to “continue developing a Christian theology compatible with the country\u2019s path of socialism<\/a>.\u201d Also last month, it was reported that Beijing issued an “internal edict” calling for church and cross demolitions to end<\/a>.)<\/p>\n