BEIJING, Dec. 14, 00 (CWNews.com) - China's Communist government defended its campaign to destroy hundreds of churches in an eastern province on Thursday, claiming that the country actually seeks to protect religious freedom.
«It is clear that China has been carrying out a policy of protecting religious freedom,» Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told a news briefing. «The normal religious activities and legal rights of religious organizations are under the protection of the government,» she said. Zhang added that she had no information regarding the situation in the province of Zheijang.
More than 1,200 churches have been destroyed in Zheijang alone this year, according to the Hong Kong-based Center for Human Rights and Democracy, although local figures place the number at 450. Local government officials have acknowledged the destruction. «We started the crackdown on the illegal religious activities at the beginning of this year,» he told Reuters news service. «We have demolished hundreds of illegal temples and churches up to now.»
«Buddhism and Christianity have flourished so widely in rural areas in the past several years,» the Zhejiang official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. «Lots of peasants gathered money spontaneously and built small temples and churches in towns and villages. But most of them didn't get permission from the authorities.»
«Perhaps it's not so easy for the local people to understand our action at present, especially for the old followers. We want to clear up religious places in the province,» he said.
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs
14. desember 2000