Christmas in China

Around this time of year, it isn't uncommon for people in the US to ask me, "Is Christmas celebrated in China?" So, I'll share some thoughts on what I've experienced. This post is not intended to be all-encompassing nor will it explore how Christians in China are (and are not) able to express their religious beliefs during the holiday.

While there are millions of Christians in China, the vast majority of Chinese are not Christian. However, at least in several of the larger Chinese cities I've been in during the holiday period it is not uncommon to see Christmas decorations at places such as shopping centers and restaurants. Also, Christmas music can sometimes be heard playing in such places (I once heard Christmas music playing at a Hunan-style restaurant in Shanghai in mid-June -- they had no idea it was Christmas music). My sense is that much of this visible "celebrating" of Christmas is simply people wanting to participate in what is viewed as a Western tradition and not a religious holiday. And at least some of it appears to be commercially motivated.

This generic template of numerous conversations I've had in China as Christmas approaches helps provide a sense of how Christmas can be perceived:

Chinese Person: What will you be doing for Christmas?
Me: Nothing special, I don't celebrate Christmas.
CP: Really?!?!? Why not? You're American!
Me: Yes, I'm American, but I'm not Christian. I'm Jewish.
CP: So what?

Some will then point out that they celebrate Christmas despite not being Christian and ask why it would be any different for me. Christmas has as much religious connotation for them as Halloween does for most Americans.

This short report by The Christian Broadcasting Network (hat tip to M.I.C. Gadget) about the growing Christmas tradition in China mirrors some of what I've found -- particularly in the interviewees' responses to questions about the meaning of Christmas:

For more color on Christmas in China, below are several photos of decorations (and hats) I've seen in Wuhan, Hubei province (map) the past few days. To be clear, the photos are very much cherry picked and are not intended to imply that all of Wuhan is decked out for Christmas. It definitely isn't. But particularly in many shopping areas, one can feel some of the spirit of Christmas -- at least in a commercial sense.

Outside a large department store

Some decorations inside the department store

I'm willing to bet few understand why the term "X mas" is used.

A small store selling Christmas decorations

A shoe store

Another department store (FYI - Chocoolate is a fashion brand from Hong Kong)

Hair salon

A department store at a very large and relatively empty shopping mall

Restaurant

Family wearing their Christmas hats

Finally, my comments above may have left some readers wondering, "What does a Jew in China do on Christmas Eve?"

Well, I can happily say I do the same thing as many Jews in the US where most places are closed that evening.

I go out to eat at a Chinese restaurant.

Where Can You Say "Falun Dafa Is Good"?

While in Taitung, Taiwan a couple of days ago I saw this sign:

There was at least one other similar sign elsewhere in Taitung.

Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a "spiritual discipline" that has roots in China and was once viewed positively by the Chinese government.  However, as noted in Wikipedia:

...by the mid- to late-1990s, the Communist Party and public security organs increasingly viewed Falun Gong as a potential threat on account of its size, independence from the state, and spiritual teachings. By 1999, some estimates placed the number of Falun Gong adherents at over 70 million, exceeding the total membership of the Chinese Communist Party.^[8]

In July 1999, Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership initiated a ban on Falun Gong and began a nationwide crackdown and multifaceted propaganda campaign intended to eradicate the practice. In October 1999 it declared Falun Gong a "heretical organization."^[1][9][10] Human rights groups report that Falun Gong practitioners in China are subject to a wide range of human rights abuses; hundreds of thousands are believe to have been imprisoned extra-judicially, and practitioners in detention are subject to forced labor, psychiatric abuse, severe torture, and other coercive methods of thought reform at the hands of Chinese authorities.^{[11][12][13][14]} In the years since the suppression campaign began, Falun Gong adherents have emerged as a prominent voice in the Chinese dissident community, advocating for greater human rights and an end to Communist Party rule.

The signs brought to mind something I saw while in Seattle, USA for a business trip two winters ago:

On this small grassy mound near the popular Pike Place Market in Seattle were people presenting information about the struggles of Falun Dafa in China.  The most visible banners say, "Falun Dafa -- Stop Genocide in China".

On numerous occasions I've informally shown my photos from the US to friends in China.  If the above photo from Seattle comes up it can sometimes cause a stir.  I recall one time in particular when a friend was shocked that some people in the US would support Falun Dafa and even suggest that China is conducting genocide.  I didn't know much about Falun Dafa so together we read the Wikipedia entry on it and further searched the Internet (using my VPN to avoid any potential censorship due to China's Great Firewall).  Much of what she believed was consistent with the efforts of the Chinese media described in the Wikipedia entry on Falun Dafa under the section "Media Campaign".  For example:

According to China scholars Daniel Wright and Joseph Fewsmith, for several months after Falun Gong was outlawed, China Central Television's evening news contained little but anti-Falun Gong rhetoric charging that it cheats its followers, separates families, damages health, and hurts social stability. The government operation was "a study in all-out demonization," they write.^[146] Falun Gong was compared to "a rat crossing the street that everyone shouts out to squash" by Beijing Daily;^[147] other officials said it would be a "long-term, complex and serious" struggle to "eradicate" Falun Gong.^[148]
...
On the eve of Chinese New Year on 23 January 2001, five people attempted to set themselves ablaze on Tiananmen Square. The official Chinese press agency, Xinhua News Agency, and other state media asserted that the self-immolators were practitioners while the Falun Dafa Information Center disputed this,^[150] on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid suicide and killing,^[151] and further alleged that the event was a cruel but clever piece of stunt-work.^[152] The incident received international news coverage, and video footage of the burnings were broadcast later inside China by China Central Television (CCTV). Images of a 12 year old girl, Liu Siying, burning and interviews with the other participants in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise were shown.^[150][153] Falun Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behavior were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.^[154] Washington Post journalist Phillip Pan wrote that the two self-immolators who died were not actually Falun Gong practitioners.^[155] Time reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, the mainland Chinese media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.^[156] As public sympathy for Falun Gong declined, the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.^[157] According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.^[158]

After reading several sources on the Internet that day, I don't think she was convinced that Falun Dafa was necessarily "good" and that a genocide had occurred, but she was now deeply suspicious of much of what she had previously learned about Falun Dafa and how the Chinese government responded.
 
The full Wikipedia post on Falun Dafa can be found here.  It is detailed and provides numerous references.  I suspect that many, whether in Mainland China, Taiwan, the US, or elsewhere would find much in the entry that would be new to them.  What people take away from it could be very different, though.

For now, I simply want to say that like the students' use of Facebook in Hualien, Taiwan discussed in the previous post, the signs in Taitung contrast with what is possible in Mainland China.  I doubt such signs would be permitted to stand long in Mainland China.  I certainly haven't seen any.

Signs supporting Falun Dafa may seem like a very distant issue from access to Facebook.  However, you don't need to make a sign to share the opinion "Falun Dafa is Good" with many people.

You could do it with Facebook as well.

Islam in China: Religious Beliefs, Political Goals, and Equality

I've done a few posts on religion in China using examples of Christianity (see here and here) and Islam (see here).  One larger issue I've tried to highlight is that while religious expression is repressed and controlled in some ways, in other ways it is practiced openly and without fear.

A video (see below) by Al Jazeera English further highlights how religion, in this case Islam, can be seen as both flourishing and repressed in China.  The video is from a couple years ago just prior to the Olympics in China but I think it's still applicable today.  In particular it draws attention to a distinction of apparent importance to the Chinese Government -- the potential differences between a group's religious beliefs and its political goals.  Claims are made by some that the Chinese Government is primarily concerned about the "politics" of religious groups, in this case the attempt to make a region of China independent.

After watching the video, I could imagine a Chinese diplomat speaking to a group of Americans and trying to defend some of China's actions regarding Muslim groups by saying, "Sure, you allow groups such as Mormons to practice their religion freely.  But how would America respond if a large group of militant Mormons was intent on making Utah an independent country?"

A point made at the end of the video about the limitations Muslims face in China brought to mind some discussions I've had with non-Muslim Chinese.  When I hear the claim that Uyghur people, an ethnic group in China that is predominantly Muslim, are treated as equals in China and have equal opportunities I'll sometimes ask, "Do you think a capable Uyghur would be allowed to become China's leader?".  The discussion on the topic usually ends there with a pensive reply of "no".

On the side...  The video seems reasonably consistent with the stated goals of Qatar-based Al Jazeera English to "provide independent, impartial news for an international audience and to offer a voice to a diversity of perspectives..."  By those standards I've seen worse at times from American news organizations.  But the gap between the Al Jazeera English report and those typical for equivalent Mainland Chinese news organizations is particularly striking.  I would very much welcome a day when they are able to produce and distribute equally impartial reports on issues where their audience or the Chinese Government may already have strong views.

Here's the video -- I think it's well worth the 10 minutes it takes to watch it:

Islam in China: Some Scenes from Zhaotong, Yunnan

Previously, I posted some of what I've seen of Christianity in China here and here.

Like my observations of Christianity in China, I was not specifically looking for instances of Islam in China.  However, I've had the opportunity to observe a small slice of of it.  One of China's numerous ethnic groups is the Muslim Hui people.  While Yunnan isn't one of the major regions for the Hui people in China, in Zhaotong it is impossible not to notice their presence.

I'll share a light selection of what I saw in Zhaotong.  Nothing deep here, just providing some color on Muslims in China (see here for more details about the Hui people).

While walking around Zhaotong one day I came across this mosque with a Muslim school and dormitories next to it on the right:

While prayer sessions were ongoing two younger boys invited me into the classroom & dormitory building to chat.  Their dorm room wasn't very different from some college dormitories I've seen in Southwest China:

When the prayers were finished numerous students and teachers came out of the mosque to return to their classrooms and dorms:

Hui people can be seen in many other parts of Zhaotong as well, typically doing the same things as other Chinese -- such as working in stores or attending college.  Here is a scene from a shopping street:

Also, there were numerous Hui people selling food in some street markets.  This lady was selling a tofu snack and an assortment of eggs:

I had several very enjoyable conversations with Hui people.  Probably the most memorable was this lady:

This was the 3rd photo of her trying to make her best face.

She struck me as someone who had no fear of being different and her strong sense of humor readily displayed itself.  She definitely provided an enjoyable change of pace.

Before I came to Zhaotong I was not aware it had any Muslim influence.  Now, I'll definitely never forget it.

Easter in China: Detention, Worship, and Song

Earlier, in "Christianity in Churches in China" I shared some of the experiences I've had in China witnessing how Christianity could blend into the China's culture.

The openness of the religious expression I shared stood in stark contrast to the news of that day -- Chinese police had detained numerous Chinese for praying publicly outside.  This led one reader to ask:

"So how have these churches even gotten building permits if religion is so tightly controlled??"

The key is that China is "OK" with religion as long as any organized practice of it occurs in government controlled Buddhist temples, churches, mosques, etc.  For example, Chinese Government insists on the power to appoint Bishops for the Catholic Church.  They want the power to be able to avoid the potential that such organizations could be used in any way against the ruling Communist Party of China.

The people who were earlier detained were part of what is called a "house church" in China -- one that isn't officially sanctioned by the Chinese Government and may gather in a variety of locations such as people's homes.  They had bought a building to serve as a church but have been blocked from occupying it.  When they were unable to use the newly purchased building they decided to pray outside.  In recent weeks, some of the worshipers have reportedly been forced out of their homes and lost their jobs due to pressure from security officials.

On Sunday members of the same church again tried to pray outside to observe Easter and the police responded as before by detaining a number of people.  There were also reports of other Easter services being repressed.

Regardless of the continued detainment of people praying in non-sanctioned manners, many other Christians in China were able to pray with no obvious disturbance.  This was made apparent to me as I passed by a church in Kunming, Yunnan during the Easter weekend.

Trinity International Church in Kunming, China

At the time, there were people outside openly passing out pamphlets and actively encouraging passerby's to come inside. [sentence edited for clarity]

First page of religious pamphlet

On Sunday when I took a look inside there was a completely full house with a number of people having to stand.

Church service with packed seats

While I am not at an expert on Easter services, what I saw during my short visit didn't seem unusual to me in any way -- except hearing some Western style hymns in Chinese.  The above photo shows one of four services that were being held on the Saturday and Sunday of Easter weekend.  During my two visits I didn't see any obvious foreigners but the 2nd service offered simultaneous translation into English through wireless earphones.

English version of guide to services

There were many things in the church that seemed familiar for a place of worship.  In fact, they even had the requisite bulletin board highlighting recent activities:

Especially after reading so much about the detentions in Beijing, the large crowds in the church made me feel like I was in a different world.  One congregant said she had absolutely no worries about the Chinese Government -- they were sanctioned and had no fears.  When I asked her about the Christians who had been detained in Beijing she claimed not to have heard the news, but her body language and sudden desire to switch to another topic suggested otherwise.  Her apparent reluctance to speak about the issue may have been related to a sense of shame.  However, it is also possible "observers" were nearby and she didn't wish to draw any unwanted attention.

The issue of religion is an example of how China can be open and free in some ways and yet so controlled and censored in other ways.  It is easy to see that China's openness has grown over the past several decades, however the recent chilling series of detentions of political activists, lawyers, and even those who wish to express themselves through religion or art causes worries there may be at least a temporary shift in direction.

I share all of this simply to point out that like many aspects of China, the issue of religion is not as black and white as many outside of Chinese perceive it to be.  This weekend, hundreds of millions of Chinese went about their lives as normal entirely unconcerned about the Easter holiday.  Millions of other Chinese celebrated Easter in official churches like ones like the one I visited or in "house" churches.  Then there were those who were forcibly restrained from peacefully observing the holiday in the manner they chose.  All of these people are a part of religion in China today.

To close, I'll share a video of several younger congregants singing a religious song early Saturday evening before a production of a play for Easter.  The lyrics of the song are simple and include phrases I'll roughly translate as "I'm truly for you, my Jesus.  I want to contribute much to you.  I really love you."  Even if you don't understand Chinese, you can probably understand the Chinese word for "Jesus" -- 耶稣 (Yesu).  The singing is not remarkable in any way except how it likely mirrors scenes in many other churches around the world.  Hopefully, it is a sign that China will continue to open so everyone can peacefully express themselves as they desire.

Christianity and Churches in China

Today in Beijing, police detained Chinese Christians who were praying in a public plaza. 

While providing updates via Twitter, Louisa Lim, an NPR Beijing correspondent, sent a tweet capturing the feelings of some of those who were involved:

"I'm not scared" one Christian said before outdoor prayers. Those I saw didn't waver in their hymns, as police w walkie-talkies surrounded.

It is yet another facet of the growing number of people being detained or disappearing in China in an apparent recent crackdown.

I'll take this moment to share a little of what I've seen regarding Christianity in China.  It was never a focus of any of the research I've done. However, over time I've noticed Christianity in a variety of contexts.

Even when interviewing participants for research studies to design better technological services and products for Chinese consumers, I've come across religion - whether seeing a Bible on a person's table or someone telling me how they communicated their religious beliefs (some of my previous research in China was for mobile social networking services).

Any church services I have happened to observe were in Chinese.  This sign helps give a sense of the proportion of Chinese vs English services in a city with a relatively large number of foreigners not fluent in Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin are both Chinese dialects):

Sign outside church in Guangzhou

There were other instances of Christianity being openly displayed.  For example, when I was exploring several old villages in Yantou, Zhejiang, I came across this funeral procession:

While appearing traditionally Chinese in many ways, a closer look showed a strong Christian influence:

Flags with Christian cross

Hats with Christian cross

The Christian funeral procession was parading through some very public streets and squares.  It was not particularly surprising to see that Yantou had at least 2 larger churches.

One of Yantou's churches

After seeing the procession, I had an interesting conversation with this local shop owner:

She commented that the older people in the town believe in Buddha while the younger people "believe in science".  However, she had no idea how to characterize those who believe in Jesus.

While religious expression is tightly controlled in China, the visibility of Christian beliefs is one of the many things I was surprised to discover as I've conducted research across China.  While walking in several Chinese cities I've even seen people actively encouraging others passing by their church to come in to participate or watch.  It will be fascinating to see what impact religion plays in China's future.

Below are photos of various churches I've seen across China during the past year or so.  Many of them are in cities not familiar to those outside China.  This is not intended to be representative in any way -- it's just what I've happened to see.  To the best of my knowledge all of the following churches are "alive" in some manner.  I've seen others that are now museums or relics.