Catholic and Protestant leaders in China have criticized legislation drafted by Zhejiang province, home to a large Christian community, to reduce the quantity of Church crosses across the province and ban their placement on rooftops.
The law “blasphemes the foundational belief of
Christianity” and violates China’s constitution in respect
to freedom of religious belief, Chongyi Church, the largest
Protestant church in Zhejiang’s provincial capital Hangzhou, said
in an outraged statement.
“The rules make many unreasonable requests for Catholic and
Protestant buildings,” the statement circulating online and
cited by AFP said. “They also excessively interfere in
freedom for reasonable use of building interiors, violating the
basic spirit of the state’s religious management.”
Chinese authorities have forcibly removed at least 470 crosses,
and destroyed over 35 churches over the past 18 months, estimates
Chin’s UCA news website. Clashes with local Christians were often
the result of authorities’ actions.
Authorities claim that the draft legislation, which sets
restrictions on Christian churches, mosques and Buddhist and
Daoist temples “protects freedom of religious belief”.
READ MORE: Chinese province moves to ban Christian crosses on rooftops
The bill stipulates that a cross of a church must be placed on
the building’s facade, not on the roof top, should blend in
colour with the whole of the building and should be no more than
a tenth of the building’s height.
The provisions of the law, open for discussion until May 20, have
sparked public criticism of the authorities, which is rare in
China.
“It is quite standard around the world that the cross is
placed on the rooftop. How can we just fix it on the facade? It’s
difficult for us to accept,” a Catholic priest, who asked to
remain anonymous, told UCA news portal. “Under such
circumstances, we may have to build our churches in the Chinese
temple style in the future,” he added.
Another worshiper, a Protestant catechist, said that the new
legislation demonstrated that the Communist Party is set to
interfere in the matters of religion.
The 36-page draft also stated that kitchens and bathrooms in
churches are bound to primarily use solar or other renewable
energy. The latter is an expensive requirement, which has never
been imposed on other businesses and institutions in China.
“It is simply ridiculous. The authorities should control the
smog first before talking to the Church about environmental
protection,” the catechist, who also asked not to be named,
said.