12/29/2018 Chinese Christians Defy Crackdown on Christmas: ‘We Will Not Forfeit Our Faith’

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Chinese Christians Defy Crackdown on

Christmas: ‘We Will Not Forfeit Our
Faith’
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GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images

by JOHN HAYWARD 25 Dec 2018 329 BREITBART CONNECT

  LISTEN TO STORY 5:17

2018 brought one of China’s worst crackdowns on religion, from

the astonishing persecution of the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang
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12/29/2018 Chinese Christians Defy Crackdown on Christmas: ‘We Will Not Forfeit Our Faith’

province to a series of raids against “underground” Christian

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Some Chinese cities banned Christmas decorations and celebrations in an effort to

establish the primacy of the communist government and stoke the fires of nationalism at
the height of a trade war with the United States.

The South China Morning Post found this Christmas less “cheerful and bustling than
other years” in China:

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Christmas decorations reportedly have been banned in at least four cities this year, Two Weeks!
including Langfang, about 55km (34 miles) south of Beijing, where shop windows 90s Kids Only
were stripped of Christmas stickers and streets were kept free of Christmas banners
and lights.

The seasonal humbug follows similar outbreaks of anti-Christmas rhetoric in 2014

and 2017. It appears not to be centrally organized, but rather a spreading resistance
to foreign festivals by local authorities seeking to align themselves with a changing
outlook in the Chinese government.

The capital itself seems free from such bans, though. As a South China Morning Post
reporter found, people were continuing to mark Christmas across the sprawling
metropolis in ways both commercial and religious, though for the most part
Christmas has largely continued to be a shopping festival in Beijing and other cities.
Nasty Self Defence Move Ends a
It is not surprising that Beijing would try to appear more relaxed and inclusive to foreign Fight in 5 Seconds Flat
visitors, or that the central government would feel less insecure about the appeal of Combat Fighter

religion in the seat of its power. Elsewhere in China, regulators were emboldened to go
after “unauthorized religious gatherings” by recent amendments to the law.

“It is impossible to have large gatherings. All we can do is get together and celebrate
Christmas in small groups,” said one member of an underground church whose founder is
currently under house arrest.

On Christmas Eve, the SCMP reported all of the Christmas trees, lights, and bells vanished
from a 27-story shopping and office building in the city of Nanyang in less than 24 hours,
all the way down to the giant teddy bear who once greeted visitors at the entrance to the
shopping area.

Students of President Xi Jinping’s doctrine say the government increasingly views Cable TV Execs Are Outraged by
Christmas as a “foreign cultural element” that must be purged for the sake of national This Hdtv Antenna
unity. Television programs emphasize the importance of Chinese culture over TrueSignalTV

“ostentatious Christmas celebrations.” Extra police have been deployed to prevent overly
enthusiastic festivities.

Pressed about these measures, Chinese officials and state-run media insisted they are
merely trying to prevent road blockages, illegal street vendors, and excessive clutter from

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12/29/2018 Chinese Christians Defy Crackdown on Christmas: ‘We Will Not Forfeit Our Faith’
Christmas decorations. Religious freedom activists countered by leaking memos that
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placed 
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restrictions upon Christmas celebrations and urged the insertion of 

Communist Party “values” into holiday sermons at government-approved churches.

Despite these efforts, activists said young people in China are increasingly enthusiastic
about the Christmas holiday, and some analysts believe Christianity is the fastest-growing
religion — which could pose a serious challenge to Xi’s agenda, especially his plan to He Was A Famous Actor Before
redefine “human rights” in collectivist terms. His Plastic Surgery, Guess Who
LW
The New York Times found Christians defiant in the face of several large churches getting
shut down by the police in the fall and winter:

At Chengdu Xishuipang Reformed Church, a Protestant church with close ties to

Early Rain, more than 100 people gathered inside a worship hall on the 16th floor of
an apartment building.

A children’s choir sang “Silent Night,” and a small Christmas tree, decorated with
snowflakes, was on display near the lectern.

The anxieties brought on by the recent arrests hung over the ceremony.

“If you see the police, national security or community workers greet them with
gentleness,” Wen Hongbin, an elder at Xishuipang, told the congregation. “If they try The Single Most Disturbing Trend
to grab the microphone, I ask the brothers sitting in the front row to please stop in America
The Legacy Report
them.”
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The NYT quoted Christian Gu Baoluo, who was looking forward to a “boisterous Christmas
celebration” at his Early Rain Covenant Church before the government raided the church a
few weeks ago and arrested its pastor, Wang Yi, on charges of “subversion.” Gu had to
make do with a smaller, quieter Christmas Eve service at a friend’s house, using encrypted
communications to talk with other congregants.

“We will not forfeit our faith because of suppression by the authorities,” Gu nevertheless
declared.

Gu said he was baptized into the Early Rain church last year because he saw “injustice” in
Chinese society and realized his government’s “promotion of China as a just country that
enforces laws in a civilized manner was all a lie.” He said he fears for his safety in the wake
of Pastor Wang’s arrest and has closed his rice-selling business.

The NYT found the Vatican regrettably silent about the crackdown, having reached an
understanding with the Chinese government that grants Catholicism a measure of
protection by giving the Chinese state a role in selecting bishops in exchange for some
recognition of papal authority.

Olivia Enos of the Heritage Foundation noted at Forbes that China usually launches or
intensifies crackdowns on religious holidays, as with the pre-Christmas assault on
Christian churches or heavier persecution of the Uighurs before Ramadan. This is
presumably done to demoralize the targets.

Several Hong Kong Christian congregations dressed in black for Sunday services before
Christmas to show their solidarity with Pastor Wang and the other Christians imprisoned
by mainland China.

READ MORE STORIES ABOUT:

Asia, Faith, National Security, China, Christian persecution, Christians, christmas, Early Rain
Church, Religious freedom, Religious persecution, Vatican, Wang Yi,

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