A number of Chinese Christians in the city of Wenzhou were hospitalized after a heated protest against local authorities. They resist the installation of anti-terror cameras in churches.
The city of Wenzhou, located in Zhejiang Province, is called China’s “Jerusalem” for having the highest concentration of Christians in the mainland. It is a manufacturing hub with an 8 million population.
A report by the South China Morning Post said that city officials have started executing the controversial order which was approved late last year. As a response, the clergy in Wenzhou, which has an estimated 1 million Christians, conducted a demonstration.
According to an unnamed Christian in Wenzhou, “government officials came to the churches and put up cameras by force. Some pastors and worshippers who didn’t agree to the move were dragged away,” adding that “some people needed to be treated in hospital after fighting the officials.”
The Christian did not give the paper details on when the conflict had occurred.
In the face of strong opposition, churches were still commanded to install cameras at cameras at gates, raised platforms, offering boxes and other places. Church goers assert that the anti-terror cameras breach their privacy, said China Aid, a religious rights group based in the U.S.
A devotee said that authorities had installed the cameras one by one. His place of worship has no cameras installed yet.
“I don’t support the government’s decision and I hope they will not put monitoring equipment inside our church,” said the devotee.
“We Christians do good deeds and we don’t do anything to endanger the public. I don’t understand why the government wants to monitor us. The government’s pressure on us will not deter us from our beliefs and will not affect the proliferation of our religion. The tougher the persecution, the more people will be encouraged to follow the religion,” the devotee added.
Two years prior the issuance of the controversial decree, Chinese officials have ordered the removal of neon crosses from churches and other buildings in the Zhejiang Province.
The anti-cross campaign had caught the eyes of international media and made it to headlines at the time. The Chinese government received sharp criticisms from religious rights organizations across the globe.
According to China Aid, nearly 360 crosses were taken away and one church was even torn down. Before the campaign, Wenzhou’s skyline is spotted with crosses from more than 2,000 churches.
The new directive was issued in the midst of China’s tighter controls over religious activities. The installation of anti-terror cameras in churches is deemed by many as a form of persecution against Chinese Christians.