Western forces are trying to use Christianity to influence China’s society and even “subvert” the government, a senior Chinese official said on Monday, warning that Chinese Christians need to follow a Chinese model of the religion.
China’s constitution guarantees religious freedom, but since President Xi Jinping (習近平) took office six years ago, the government has tightened restrictions on religions seen as a challenge to the authority of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The government has cracked down on underground churches, both Protestant and Catholic, even as it seeks to improve relations with the Vatican.
There are many problems with Christianity in China, including “infiltration” from abroad and “private meeting places,” National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China Secretary-General Xu Xiaohong (徐曉鴻) said in a speech.
“It must be recognized that our movement’s surname is ‘China’ and not ‘Western,’” Xu was yesterday quoted as saying in a report by the CCP’s United Front Work Department, which is in charge of co-opting noncommunists, ethnic minorities and religious groups.
“Anti-China forces in the West are trying to continue to influence China’s social stability and even subvert our country’s political power through Christianity, and it is doomed to fail,” Xu said.
China has been following a policy it calls the Sinicization of religion, trying to root out foreign influences and enforce obedience to the CCP.
Restrictions on religion have attracted concern in the US.
Last week, during a visit to Hong Kong, the US ambassador for religious freedom called on Beijing to end religious persecution.
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