Tag: Zhejiang

China: Christmas banned by university’s communists

December 21, 2017 China China, Communism, Xi Jinping, Zhejiang

A Chinese university has banned Christmas in order to help young people resist the “corrosion of Western religious culture”, reports The Telegraph. A notice posted online at Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, north-eastern China, said “some young people are blindly excited by Western holidays, especially religious holidays like Christmas Eve and Christmas . . . Read More

Chinese bishop who disappeared in April resurfaces in Beijing hospital

September 12, 2017 China China, Peter Shao Zhumin, Wenzhou, Zhejiang

A church building in Wenzhou carrying a cross on top. Churches in Zeijang province have been under pressure to remove their crosses in recent years.

The Chinese Bishop of Wenzhou, Peter Shao Zhumin, has resurfaced in a Beijing hospital reportedly to undergo ear surgery, after he was taken away from his diocese by security officials in April. According to the Catholic news site UCAN the bishop re-appeared via the social media app WeChat, through which . . . Read More

China bans children – and their teachers – from churches

September 8, 2017 China Children, China, Communism, Fujian, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Three-Self Patriotic Movement, Wenzhou, Zhejiang

Unofficial estimates say that there are close to 100 million Christians in China, more than are members of its Communist Party, due to hold its 19th five-yearly National Congress in mid-October. But in several provinces, children were banned from attending Christian camps over the summer holidays while notices were issued . . . Read More

As China goes global, its Christian missionaries go too

September 4, 2017 Balochistan, China, Islamic State, Lee Zingyang, Meng Lisi, Missionaries, Pakistan, Quetta, Zhejiang

A Chinese Christian holds a Bible standing outside the largest Chinese church in the world: the Three Self church which seats 5,000 people, in Hangzhou city. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

China’s drive to develop new trading routes to the West and beyond comes with an unintended and often overlooked by-product: Chinese Christian missionaries, who are putting the self-proclaimed atheistic country in a difficult spot, according to the BBC. The latest example is the story of two young Chinese who travelled . . . Read More

German ambassador makes rare criticism of China over religious freedom

June 28, 2017 China Beijing, Catholics, China, Churches, Crosses, Education, House churches, Peter Shao Zhumin, Religious freedom, Wenzhou, Zhejiang

The German ambassador to China has made an official request that the Beijing government release Peter Shao Zhumin, the bishop of Wenzhou, reports Asia News. It is thought to be the first request of this kind made to China in 10 years. In his official statement on his embassy’s website . . . Read More

Chinese Communist Party using CCTV to ‘maintain social order’ at churches

March 23, 2017 China China, Communism, Crosses, Peter Shao Zhumin, Xi Jinping, Zhejiang

Cross on Dongguang Church in Shenyang, north-eastern China

The Chinese government is forcing churches in Zhejiang province to install CCTV reports UCA News. The Communist Party in the heavily Christian province on China’s east coast wants Catholic and Protestant churches to install CCTV cameras inside and outside their buildings, in a bid to control the number of Christians . . . Read More

Freedom House’s China report ‘misses big picture’

March 3, 2017 China China, Crosses, Xi Jinping, Zhejiang

A new report on abuses of religious freedom in China “misses the big picture” when it comes to Christians, according to China-watcher Ian Johnson. Johnson says Freedom House’s new report, The Battle for China’s Spirit, focuses too much on the cross removals in Zhejiang Province and misses “the most important . . . Read More

Chinese pastor Joseph Gu arrested again

January 13, 2017 China China, Chongyi Church, Crosses, Hangzhou, Joseph Gu, Zhejiang

The former leader of China’s largest official Protestant “mega-church” has been arrested and charged for the second time with misappropriating funds. Gu Yuese (also known as Joseph Gu) was arrested on 7 January, a year after being arrested on the same charges. (He was released on bail in March 2016, . . . Read More

NGO law shows China’s ‘challenging environment’

January 4, 2017 China China, Crosses, Inner Mongolia, Zhang Kai, Zhejiang

Christians working in China may be facing the “most challenging environment in decades”, according to Brent Fulton, president of China Source. This observation comes following the 1 January introduction of a new law regulating foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which, according to a spokeswoman for the American Embassy in Beijing, could . . . Read More

China tightens grip on religion

September 23, 2016 China Education, Sinicisation, Three-Self Patriotic Movement, Xi Jinping, Zhejiang

The Chinese government has released a set of proposed amendments to its rules regulating religious affairs, as President Xi Jinping attempts to exert even greater control over how religion is practised. The new set of amendments, released to the public on 7 Sep. for a one-month consultation period, includes guidelines . . . Read More

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