China steps up campaign to remove church crosses

Authorities in Wenzhou, known as China’s Jerusalem, have given Christian churches a deadline to remove prominent crosses within weeks, worshippers and an activist group said on Thursday, stepping up a long-running campaign.

The eastern province of Zhejiang, where Wenzhou is located, earlier this year proposed rules requiring crosses for Catholic and Protestant churches to be attached to the front of the building, rather than on the roof. 

They must also be no more than a tenth of the building’s height.

The move came after Wenzhou authorities last year demolished the large Sanjiang Church, following government claims it was an illegal structure.

Three parishes under Wenzhou’s jurisdiction told AFP that local officials had renewed demands for churches to remove the remaining crosses themselves, threatening to take them down if they did not comply.

A member of the Yongqiang Parish told AFP: “Talk has been spreading that in the past two days, more than 10 crosses have been torn down in Wenzhou.”