The Changsa Xiangsha Ecological Park in Hunan Province, set to open in June 2017, has angered a lot of Chinese netizens especially since a local government unit reportedly funded the park. Spread over 150,000 square meters, the park is the largest Christian theme park in central and south China.
The park features a Christian Church and Bible Institute, according to a report by Chen Zhi, president of the Christian Council of Hunan Province. It was designed to be a romantic wedding park where Chinese citizens could shoot wedding photos, Hindustan Times reported.
Religion & Politics Must Not Mix
Netizens who disagree with the idea of the park said the government must not encourage religious practices in Chin where religion and politics must be separate. The park, according to the website of the Changsa government, is sponsored by the government which it subcontracted to the Huashun Construction Project Management.
Besides the separation of religion and politics, netizens cited Changsa being the capital city of Hunan, the province where Mao Zedong was born, as reasons to oppose the park, What’s on Weibo reported. Shan Remping, a commentator on the Global Times, noted the growth of religion in recent years in China at a very fast pace which led to conflict and friction.
Public Funds for the Park?
“Local governments should no longer use public resources for the propaganda and promotion of a religion. Religion should neither be suppressed nor promoted, but should be dealt with in accordance with the law,” Shan Remping explained.
A lot of netizens feel the theme park should be demolished even if Christianity is one of five religions approved by the state. At the 9th National Chinese Christian Congress in 2013, a report released said from 2007 through 2012, there were 5,195 churches built or renovated across China. For the same period, over 2.4 million Protestants in the mainland were baptized, noting a trend of a rising number of Chinese seeking help and spiritual consolation in religion.