News by email Donate

Suggestions

langfang-station-china-thumb_article_image.jpg
wikipedia - Bohao Zhao
World News

Chinese city bans Christmas, leading to fear of religious monitoring

by Cara Bentley

Langfang is a city between Beijing and Tianjin in Hebei province whose officials have issued a ban on festive decorations and sales of Christmas-themed items, saying they are going for a clean streets and environment award. 

However, the decision is suspected to have a darker tone as on social media they also appealed to the public to report anyone "spreading religion" in parks and squares during this period.

This comes at the end of a year in which there has been harsh action taken against both registered and unregistered churches in China, with large protestant congregations having members detained and registered churches experiencing increasing levels of surveillance, such as CCTV cameras in church buildings. 

In Langfang, anyone selling Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings or Father Christmas merchandise in the city could be punished and members of the local law enforcement are not allowed to take days off from 23rd-25th December to 'maintain stability.'

Further south in the country in Henan province state-sanctioned Christian associations issued a notice to churches requesting non-Christians to not take part in the celebrations. Decorations for churches also cannot have religious elements in them. 

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate