(Wenzhou City, Zhejiang province) The local government of Wenzhou plans to resume the forced removal of crosses from Christian churches.
Dongqiao Church in Zhejiang province received a notice that on August 3rd the government will forcefully remove the cross from the church. The church has issued a public notice, urging brothers and sisters in Christ to pray fervently for this matter.
Removing Christ from the Church
An anonymous pastor from Wenzhou informed ChinaAid that the “demonic wind (a trend/movement harmful to society) of removing crosses may rise again.” He revealed that last month, the governments of Shanxi Town, Yongjia County, and Lucheng District demanded churches remove Christian phrases. For instance, bronze plaques and characters on church walls bearing the words “Emmanuel,” “Jesus,” “Christ,” and “Jehovah” were all required to be removed.
Persecution in Wenzhou
Zhejiang is a province with a high population of Christians, and it has been Xi Jinping’s primary target. According to information collected by ChinaAid, between 2014 and 2016, there were more than 1,500 churches affected by cross demolitions. On April 28, 2014, Wenzhou City’s local government forcibly removed the cross of Sanjiang Church.
Eradicating Christian symbols
At that time, an official document disclosed from within the Chinese government stated the political significance behind resisting the crosses. The removal of the crosses was an ideological struggle between the Chinese government and Christianity. Officials wanted to eradicate Christian symbols to the greatest extent possible.
Ongoing
The campaign has since spread to other provinces, with Henan Province also embarking on a large-scale campaign to dismantle crosses in 2018, burning Bibles and forcibly removing and destroying plaques with Christian phrases in the homes of believers.
The anonymous pastor in Wenzhou said he is further observing any new development regarding the dismantling of crosses in Wenzhou.
~Gao Zhensai, Special Correspondent of ChinaAid
