Authorities tear down a cross from a Protestant church in Hangzhou's Dingqiao township in China on Dec. 19, 2014. (Photo: ChinaAid)
Christians in Zhejiang province in eastern China have expressed their disappointment over a government plan to resume demolition of crosses in line with the socialist principles of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The province, home to about two million Protestants and about 200,000 Catholic Christians, has endured demolition of hundreds of crosses since 2014.
In the latest case, local authorities issued a notice to Dongqiao Christian Church in Zhejiang on Aug. 3 that stated the cross installed at the church premises will be “forcefully” removed, ChinaAid reported on Aug. 8.
An unnamed pastor at the church criticized the move by the government saying it is harmful for the peace and tranquility of the society in China.
The “demonic wind of removing crosses may rise again,” the pastor told ChinaAid.
Following the government move the church has issued a public notice urging “brothers and sisters in Christ to pray fervently for this matter.”
The pastor said last month that the governments of Shanxi Town, Yongjia County, and Lucheng District demanded that churches remove Christian phrases from public view.
Reportedly, the authorities had ordered the removal of bronze plaques and characters on church walls bearing the words “Emmanuel,” “Jesus,” “Christ,” and “Jehovah.”
Media reports say the province with a significant Christian population came under crackdown since Xi Jinping became China’s president.
Between 2014 and 2016, more than 1,500 churches were affected by cross demolitions in Zhejiang, ChinaAid stated.
On April 28, 2014, Wenzhou City’s local government forcibly removed the cross of Sanjiang Church in Wenzhou which is popularly known as “the Jerusalem of the East” for its large Christian population.
The CCP’s cross-removal campaign that began in 2013 has gradually spread to other provinces in China.
In 2018, Christians in Henan province witnessed a large-scale cross demolition campaign.
Media reports stated Bibles were burned and plaques with Christian phrases were forcibly removed from the homes of believers and destroyed during the crackdown in Henan, home to estimated 2.4 million Christians.
Xi allegedly approved the cross removal campaign during a meeting of the United Front Work Department, an influential body of the CCP tasked with advancing the party’s influence at home and aboard with a set of complex systems and opaque organizations, in 2015.
The CCP leadership argues that the public display of Christian characters like the cross does not fit with the policy of sinicization of religions.
The Lausanne Movement defines sinicization of religion as “the indigenization of religious faith, practice and ritual in Chinese culture and society.” However, the CCP is accused of manipulating the original idea for political gains.
CCP’s sinicization aims to impose strict rules based on the core values of socialism, autonomy, and supporting the leadership of the party, critics say.
In 2016, the communist regime launched a "five entries and transformations" campaign to control content inside churches, including by sending state officials to try to stop people from talking about the cross removal campaign during Mass.
Rights groups have regularly ranked China as one of the worst violators of religious freedom and human rights.
US-based Christian rights group, Open Doors, ranks China 16th among the 50 nations where Christians face severe forms of persecution.
