John MacNabb: China Cancels Christmas in Hong Kong – Leaving Churches Fearing for Their Future

I thought it was just me, but it transpires there are fewer Christmas decorations in Hong Kong this year than in previous years. A colleague confirmed, under orders from China, Hong Kong had been instructed to tone down the outward manifestations of the Christmas festivities this year.

I often find myself in Hong Kong in the run up to Christmas and in years gone past, the Christmas light show on both sides of the harbour, but especially on the island side has been dazzling. All the major buildings in Hong Kong are festooned with lights which can be programmed to convey seasonal images such as on the Chinese New Year and at Christmas. The lights are always spectacular, but at Christmas we have been treated to Father Christmas climbing up vast towers and even appearing to jump between buildings on the island side. Reindeer float from building to building and, while not ostensibly Christian, it is as Christmassy as Santa’s grotto.

Let there be (fewer) lights

On the Kowloon side, where there are not many truly high-rise buildings, the ICC (International Commercial Centre) which houses some major financial institutions and the Ritz Carlton hotel with its spectacular Ozone bar, the highest bar in the word at 480 metres, dominates. Normally it provides a good show at this time of year but on a visit to Ozone this week I looked up to see, well, nothing much. Looking across the island from Ozone, the light show was as usual but barely Christmas themed at all.

My colleague, who had just returned from mainland China also said that the authorities in China had banned Christmas celebrations this year. I tried to confirm this with a mainland colleague, a Chinese social media influencer. Using a carefully chosen series of emojis on WeChat to avoid detection by a Sinobot and getting him into trouble he said that it did not appear to be the case as, in his words, “Shanghai has loads of Christmas vibes”.

Santa (but with clauses)

Google turned up an article in Asia Media Centre titled ‘Even Santa is political – China’s battle over festivals’. It transpires, while the central Government has not banned Christmas this year in China, certain provincial governments are clamping down. The problem for the Chinese authorities at central and provincial levels is, despite China being officially an atheist state, Chinese people love Christmas. Even more than the people, businesses love Christmas as, among the many festivals and holidays at which China excels, Christmas offers yet another reason to sell goods. It seems that the worship of mammon really has replaced the worship of God.

Of course, there are Christians in China and, occasionally, I meet some. They never declare their faith in a large group. Wherever two or three are gathered together in China, you can rest assured that one of them will be a member of the Chinese Communist Party. But now and then I’ll be asked on an individual basis if I am a Christian, which I am, and they will tell me about their faith. And their struggles.

There are churches in mainland China and many universities such as Peking Union Medical College were established in pre-Communist times by missionaries. The surviving churches, marked by large red fluorescent light crosses (until now, more of which later), usually belong to American evangelical groups such as the Church of Christ, also active in Taiwan and Thailand. Seventh Day Adventists also function here; they run the prestigious Sir Run Run Shaw private hospital in Hangzhou.

Religious rites (are wrong)

Presumably, these denominations have agreed to comply with the restrictions placed on them by the Chinese Government. Essentially, their activities need to be controlled by the Government, and they are prohibited from proselytising. Such restrictions long prevented the Roman Catholic Church – the one in Communion with Rome – from operating other than underground in China. Rome traditionally refused to comply with the Chinese insistence that they should have a say in the appointment of clergy.

However, much to the anger of former Hong Kong Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen, Rome reached an agreement with the Chinese Government, recently extended, whereby Rome would continue to select bishops in China but that their appointments would have to be approved by the Government. Cardinal Zen’s outspokenness has, periodically, landed him in prison in Hong Kong. To the consternation of many Roman Catholics – your correspondent included – the agreement was renewed despite a reported violation by the Chinese Government when China appointed a bishop in Shanghai without reference to the Vatican.

Concerns about Christmas in China and in its special administrative region of Hong Kong naturally raise concerns about the survival of Christianity and Christians in China. Before long, Hong Kong will effectively be China, as the border and the full force of Chinese law extends to include the current Hong Kong border. The Roman Catholic Church, which thrives in Hong Kong, is of particular concern mainly due to its allegiance to Rome.

I went to a vigil mass in a huge modern church in the New Territories of Hong Kong on Saturday and it was standing room only for late arrivals. I have been to the same church on a Sunday morning, and it is similarly packed. Catholic Churches in the U.K. can only dream of such congregations.

Oh bug(ger)

All the signs are that China is beginning to clamp down even further than it has traditionally done. This year the Chinese Government ordered the removal of crosses from churches and the replacement of sacred images – usually only a feature of Catholic and Orthodox Churches – in favour of images of Blessed President Xi Jinping.

There are fears in Hong Kong, once the Chinese Communist Party is fully at the helm, that Roman Catholic confessionals where penitents speak in absolute confidence to a priest will be bugged. Roman Catholic Priests take a vow “even on pain of death” not to divulge the contents of confessions. After all, if the FBI in the USA can bug confessionals – and it has – then nobody is safe.

Which brings us to “Maomas“, which is not something I made up. This is what the Chinese Government is encouraging Chinese citizens to celebrate at the end of the year. After all, they say, Saint Chairman Mao was the real saviour of China, not Jesus Christ.

The prospects for the Catholic Church in our former colony cannot be good. There are nearly 400,000 baptised Catholics of many nationalities over 51 parishes in Hong Kong, most of whom seem to go to mass. Currently, they are not under the control of the Chinese Communist Party. That situation will be intolerable once China assumes full control. There has never been a time when ‘watch (this space) and pray’ can have been more apposite.

Whether you worship Mao, mammon or our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, a Happy Christmas from the MacNab household.

John MacNab teaches at a university in Hong Kong. This article was first published HERE