Believers in China fear a proposal to ban new crosses from being erected on church roofs will give solid legal grounds to further curbs against Protestant and C
The move by politicians in Zhejiang comes after hundreds of crosses were forcibly removed from churches in the region in 2014.
Zhejiang officials have toppled crosses from more than 400 churches, sometimes resulting in violent clashes with congregation members.
Officials have said the crosses violate building codes, but critics argue the rapid growth of Christian groups have made the ruling Communist Party nervous.
"They might have been removed or modified or covered in some way, shape or form because a cross obviously identifies the church building.
"But it's deeply offensive to Christians for those crosses to be removed because it just demarcates the building just to any other building," said Andy Dipper from anti-persecution charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide speaking to Premier.
"These are really concerning times and we're really wanting to raise the profile of what's happening to people in Zhejiang province, and to call people to pray," added Dipped.
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Article by Desmond Busteed
Desmond Busteed is a multimedia journalist for Premier.
