(Beijing) The Chinese Communist Party wants a "second Cultural Revolution, to decimate the religions". The municipality of Zhumadian in Henan Province has ruled in favor of the Protestant Church of Beitou. The church was demolished on April 14 on behalf of the authorities. It was where the wife of the pastor Ding Cumei, was killed, when she and her husband desperately tried to prevent the anti-Christian vandalism. The woman had been thrust into a pit and buried alive under the rubble.
The corpse of the woman was laid out by the Christians next to the ruined church. The authorities had caused the demolition of the church, because it is located where there is a shopping center to be built. For two years China's communists have turned against Christians in the country. What is officially called "urban cleansing" and "economic improvement", is in reality, a targeted campaign against Christianity, whose rapid spread is a concern to the communist government. The anti-Christian demolitions affect mainly the provinces of Zhejiang, Henan, Hebei and Hubei.
Death of Pastor's wife - causes international stir
Three weeks after the death of Ding Cumei, the city council ruled in favor of the the ministry couple. The Christians could keep the land, and it will not be reallocated in a commercial zone. The death of the Pastor's wife had evidently aroused too much international attention. The authorities are trying to limit the damage. For Ding Cumei, however, the authorities are too late. Pastor Li Jiangong now fears that the murderer of his wife will not be charged and everything could be covered up.
On April 14, the Church of Beitou was destroyed. The day before, a church was demolished in Wenzhou, "because the cross on the roof was too high" as ChinaAid reported. In a few minutes, property valued at three million yuan had been destroyed (approximately 400,000 euros), which amount had been donated over several years by the faithful for the church.
In Hebei Province, the situation is no less dramatic. Last month, five underground Catholic priests were disappeared there. At present there isn't any sign of life from them. The faithful believe that they were arrested by police and taken to a prison or a re-education camp.
State and party leadership is concerned with the topic of Religion
The Chinese Communist Party appears unwilling to tolerate the Christian religion. Last 22-23 April, the highest ranking meeting in 15 years was held in Beijing on religion. Not a good sign for Christians. The meeting involved the participation of state and party leader Xi Jinping and included the members of the entire Standing Committee of the Politburo, in short, the CP members who really run the country.
The meeting took place behind closed doors. The sparse information announced by the official press does not bode well.
State and party leader Xi Jinping stressed that the question of religion is closely connected "with state security and national unity". Therefore, it is "essential" that religious communities "mix their teachings with Chinese culture, obey Chinese laws and all of the reform of China and the prescribed socialist modernization to contribute to the achievement of the Chinese dream." Xi Jinping called for "Sinicization of religions" and its subordination to the Communist Party, "to strengthen the position of the party"
"Party members have to practice no religion but to be Marxist atheists"
At the same time Xi Jinping warned all party members not to practice a religion. "You do not have to search for their values and their faith in religions, but have to remain Marxist atheists with firmness". Finally he criticized "foreign forces", accusing, "to seek to influence the religion in China". The latter point was directed without direct mention especially against the Vatican and the Catholic Church.
The Holy See has been trying for two years without success to reach an agreement with Beijing to improve the lives of the Chinese Catholics.
John Mok Wai Chit from the Chinese University of Hong Kong confirmed AsiaNews' statements of Yi Jinping. The state and party leader had "stayed in all clarity that there had to be no religious activity outside of party control." The "leading role of the party must be enforced on all religions".
There could be no doubt in the reading of these explanations says John Mok Chit Wai: "I think it's pretty clear that Xi has no intention of entering into any compromise with religious groups. But on the contrary. Xi has made it clear that there can be no compromise. The party has to stand above other religions "
The Chinese Lawyer Sang Pu from Hong Kong, sees it no differently: "With this speech, the Communist Party has dropped the moderate mask that had been her created by Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao [the three successors of Mao Zedong] . "Xi is preparing a" second cultural Revolution "in order to decimate all religions," said Sang Pu. "To my knowledge, no one here in Hong Kong sees the speech by Xi as good news."
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Il Timone
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
9 comments:
I am very,very happy to hear about the Chinese Communist Party becoming increasinglyintolerant of Christians. By this, it is largely meant the bible thumping Protestant Christians, not the Catholics. Unfortunatly, Catholics have already for years suffered their own unjust persecution. But this persecution and destruction and harassment of Protestant Pentecostals/Baptist/fundamentalist Christians in China is to be applauded .
I have a M.A. in History, with a special emphasis on ancient Egypt, the European Medieval and early Renaissance period, and Asian History (India-naturally... and also China and Japan.
The reason why I am very pleased that the Chinese authorities are going after Protestant Christianity in China is that, in the late 19th century, up until the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900, Protestant fundamentalist Christians (mainly from the USA and Britian) did much to abuse the Chinese people. They encouraged European merchants and others to invade China, to denigrate the people and their culture, and to practically enslave the native Chinese in their own land of vast mansions that these European Christian merchants build for themselves in little colonies they carves out for themselves in Canton, Hong Kong, and other ports. They were called ligations. They were separate from the Chinese population, but there were Chinese who lived within these ligations as servants. The Europeans lived like kings, the Chinese were treated like garbage.
The Proptestant missionaries treated the Chiense people like garbage, as well as the traditional Chinese religious such as Taoism(Daoism), Confucianism, and Buddhism. Protestant fundameltalist Christians rampaged thru temples and shrines, and smashed everything in sight.
The economic hardships placed on the Chinese people by the Europeans, together with the brutal treatment given them, as well as the abuse by Protestant pastors and missionaries triggered the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, which was an attempt to either slaughter all Europeans, of drive them out of China. Many protestant missionaries and Christians were killed. Unfortunatly, Catholics who had a mostly positive reputation in China, many were martyred also because they were seen as foreign.
The Catholic Church was always well received in China. Among the first missionaries in China were of course the Jesuits. The grest Jesuit painter and lay brother (also a missionary), Giuseppe Castiglione was very well respected and liked in China, and became close friends and associates of three Chinese emperors. When Castiglione died at the age of 78, the Chinese emperor Ch'ien Lung was genuinely sad, and ordered the court to observe mourning for him. Catholic missionaries were given permission to travel wherever they wished in China.. but in the 19th century, the bad reputation and brutal treatment of the Chinese by protestants ruined this for Catholics, and they were unfortunately subjected to suspicion also.
The Protestant Christians in China of today are getting what they deserve.....
I certainly hope that the Chinese Communist govermnet allows total freedom for the very honorable nativereligious of China....Confucianism, Daoism, as wel as the long tradition of Buddhism in China. I also hope that Catholicism in China does not suffer.
It should lso be noted that today, Protestant Christians in China still are abusinve and insulting towards other religions in China. They are the only ones unwilling to live peacefully with others. They deserve absolutely to be suppressed.
Damian Malliapalli
As a second comment, it is sad that our fellow Catholics must suffer persecution again due to the bad example of the Protestant bible Christians and fundamentalists. The Communists make the mistake, as was made by Chinese peasants during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, that we are the same as the Protestants who trashed Buddhist temples and insulted Chinese traditions. Thus, because of the protestant aggressiveness and bad example, Catholics are lumped in with them and suffer the same fate.
Very sad for the faithful Catholics. Pray for our Catholic brothers and sisters in China...and also for the very good and upright Buddhist,Daoist and Confucian Chinese (and those in Tibet), that they are not persecuted for religion as a result of the continued problems the government has with the Protestants.
Damian Malliapalli
This reminds me of my time spent in Mexico in the late 1980s. The government there, masonic by its very institution, was asking the local Catholic hierarchy to do something about the large Protestant groups that were coming into Mexico, setting up farms, small factories, etc... getting converts and sending the bulk of their money back into the U.S.
The Mexican government wanted the bishops to preach against the Protestant groups, etc... Of course, it did not happen. Why should it when, since Vatican II, the thrice-defined dogma Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus has been placed to the back of the cupboard.
He has the singular advantage over you of being sincere and unspoiled.
Carlie,
Your peeing and moaning about Damian sounds like you got lost in the Hall of Mirrors at the Shrine Circus. Please don't tell us what you were doing there.
The template of English Protestantism (meaning its movers and shakers, no pun intended)is land grabbing, starting with Church lands in England. Their descendants, spiritual if not direct bloodline, blew through Ireland, grabbed Indian lands in America (the Amerind preference for Catholicism, or least her missionaries, is well attested to), conquered Hawaii, and alit in China. Michael Savage likes to repeat the line about the Protestant American missionaries in Hawaii: "They went to do good, and they did very well indeed."
Carlie, you need help. In history studies, to toss another brick on the pile. Damian can help you. Pay the rate he asks, it will be money well spent.
Note to Damian: 1) Please pray for the conversion of the Sino-protestants. 2) Maybe you should consider Holy Orders.
Thank you Barnum! But no, I never considered a religious vocation. I am too traditionalist...I don't approve of Pope Francis and his direction. And in good faith I could not join a sede-vacantist Order, or the SSPX even though liturgically they are right (not in other beliefs). I'm happy being a HS teacher, but one day hope to get a position at a major college in the Philly area.
And yes, the template for the abuse of power and abuse of native peoples by Protestant missionaries is largely based on the British (fundamentalist Christians, not the Anglican Church), and later on the USA fundamentalists.
The type of self-righteous, bigoted Protestant missionaries depicted in James Michner's monumental novel "Hawaii", and made into a classic movie starring the great Max von Sydow as the fundamentalist zealot pastor is exactly the type that invaded China and abused its people and denigrated its tradiitons. They were nearly all of the Calvinistic strain of fundamentalism...which 90% of todays fundamentalist "churches" have their original roots.
Damian Malliapalli
@Anonymous: Unfortunately, you can't pick and choose. It is all or none. The true nature of Communism can be seen in the rule of the Bolsheviks in Russia. I met someone from Hungary whose father was a Communist official before the 1956 Revolution. All those who revolted were considered to be criminals. Therefore, any Christian whether Catholic or Protestant will be seen as a criminal.
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