Christmas trees and other decorations have made a cautious comeback in shopping malls in Shanghai and other major Chinese cities this week, but authorities continued to put Christians under political pressure and discourage anyone under 18 from marking a festival seen as “Western” and potentially disruptive.
Santa Claus decorations, Christmas trees and other decorations were clearly on display in Shanghai malls on Dec. 24, with some shoppers soaking up the festive atmosphere, local residents said.
“This year’s atmosphere is one of the best in recent years,” a Shanghai resident who gave only the surname Sun for fear of reprisals told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview. “Xintiandi and other places have a lot of Christmas decorations, so we went to see them.”
“Some social media accounts are also publicizing which places have better Christmas trees or decorations, or where there are Christmas markets,” he said, speculating that the government has relaxed regulations in commercial centers for fear of alienating foreign investors.
The apparent relaxation comes after several years of a nationwide crackdown by ruling Communist Party on Christian worship, as well as public Christmas decorations and events.
However, monasteries, temples, mosques, churches and other religious activity venues in China are still required to support the leadership of the Communist Party and leader Xi Jinping’s “sinicization” program for all kinds of religious activity.
That’s included the hanging of portraits of Xi Jinping in churches, a ban on Christmas celebrations and enforced demolition work at major mosques and churches to remove domes and crosses.
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A brief online search found a holiday shopping promotional event titled “Celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Day Together,” on Sina.com, while the WeChat social media platform saw advertisements for Christmas-themed events.
State-run English-language newspaper the China Daily even ran a cartoon featuring Santa Claus on Dec. 23.
“We used to see a lot of posts about boycotting foreign festivals around this time of year, ... but suddenly nobody cares about this any more,” a resident of Guangzhou who gave only the surname Wu for fear of reprisals told RFA Mandarin.
“The government probably hasn’t given them any direction on the matter, so the pro-government 50-cent army and little pinks may not be interested any more,” he said.
Pledge to ‘resist Western holidays’
The authorities are still cracking down on Christmas among children and young people, however.
Authorities at a secondary school in the central province of Hubei sent out a pledge to students warning them off the practice.
“Please don’t send me greetings on Western holidays,” the pledge said. “I’m not Christian; I’m Chinese. I’m not a citizen of the West, so why should I celebrate Western holidays?”
The statement called on students to “consciously resist Western holidays,” and banned them from exchanging Christmas gifts.
In the eastern province of Anhui, the Lingbi County No. 4 High School also issued a statement to students and teachers, banning Christmas decorations in public.
“It is strictly forbidden to display any Christmas-related content in public places such as classrooms,” the notice said. “Do not imitate or flatter foreigners, do not organize or participate in Christmas-related gatherings, and do not forward foreign holiday content.”
It said teachers and students should “understand and identify with the spiritual connotation of Chinese traditional virtues and culture, and practice the core values of socialism.”
And Hanzhong City No. 4 High School in the northern province of Shaanxi said students are banned from any Christmas-related activities, including bringing wrapping paper, snow spray or other Christmas-related items into school, on pain of “severe punishment.”
“This is to guide students to cherish their own culture, and to enhance national confidence and cultural identity,” the directive said.
Limited services
Meanwhile, a Christian who gave only the surname Zhao for fear of reprisals said he was permitted to go to a Christmas service on Wednesday, but only for an hour.
“I’m in Jiangsu [province] right now, and you have to give your name to get into the church, and the services are limited to not much more than one hour,” he said.
“This year is a little more relaxed, but in Anhui, you also have to give your name to get into the church,” Zhao said.
Under President Xi Jinping’s “sinicization” policy, the government is particularly strict about banning religious activities for young people under the age of 18, he said.
“Education starts from an early age,” he said. “They think it’s harder to change people’s minds if they have been Christians since they were young.”
In the southwestern province of Yunnan, the National Primary School in Luquan county called on students to “take a rational look at Western festivals and culture, and don’t worship foreign things blindly or follow trends.”
Student are banned from “celebrating Christmas, buying gifts and forwarding related content” on social media, it said.
Similar warnings were issued in some companies, who banned employees from forwarding Christmas-related content on social media.
“Employee behavior should be consistent with company culture, and support their Chinese cultural heritage through their actions,” a decoration company in Dongying city told employees.
A Protestant pastor of a church in the port city of Qingdao who gave only the surname Qin for fear of reprisals confirmed that some shopping malls where he lives are displaying Christmas decorations.
“But you couldn’t hear any Christmas carols in the mall,” Qin said. “The malls used to play Christmas carols, including songs in English praising Jesus and the coming of Christ, but I didn’t hear any this year.”
Meanwhile, security guards and local religious affairs bureau officials are sitting in at the local church over the holiday period, Qin said.
U.S.-based current affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan said the ruling Chinese Communist Party uses “cultural confidence” as a way to reject what it sees as “Western” values, particularly when connected to human rights.
“The real meaning of this so-called self-confidence is the defense of the Chinese Communist Party’s own totalitarian and distorted red ideology,” he said.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.