Long March: Searching for God in Fujian

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 015382

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB, R, EAP/CM, EAP/PD, DRL
STATE PASS USTR - STRATFORD, CELICO
USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, DAS LEVINE
USPACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIRF PGOV ECON CH
SUBJECT: Long March: Searching for God in Fujian

Ref: A) Guangzhou 13384 B) Guangzhou 13385 C) Guangzhou

13562 D) Guangzhou 14707 E) Guangzhou 14818 F) Guangzhou
14936

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1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Two churches near Zhangzhou's city
center denote Zhangzhou's relatively relaxed approach to
religious practice. The city's new Catholic Church sits
prominently in the city center, replacing a nearby older
church torn down in recent years. The church pays for its
upkeep by renting out the bottom floor as a pool hall. A
smaller Protestant Church built in 1918 reminds visitors of
the area's religious history. Both churches each have
approximately 1,000 worshippers attending services each
week. END SUMMARY


2. (U) During Consulate Guangzhou's "Long March" (ref A) the
Consul General and Congenoffs visited Zhangzhou Prefecture
in southwest Fujian Province. After official meetings in
the city Congenoffs requested to visit a neighboring
Catholic church they had seen the day before. Foreign
Affairs officials took the group to see both the
Catholic Church and a nearby Protestant Church as well.

Zhangzhou: Capital Z Rhymes With P, Stands For Pool
-------------- --------------


3. (U) In the heart of Zhangzhou city a giant white Catholic
church towers above the treetops of a city park. From a
distance, the building looks like a typical European style
church with three domed towers topped with golden
crucifixes. From closer up, however, visitors also see a
modern billiard parlor occupying the first floor of the
building.


4. (U) Arriving unannounced at the gate of the new edifice,
Congenoffs were met by a groundskeeper who answered
questions and gave the group a tour of the chapel and its
grounds. The sanctuary is a large, high-ceiling concrete
structure with a single level of seating, and spacious front
area for the priest and worship leaders to lead masses.
While simple in decor, the walls hold a large crucifix
holding a statue of Christ, and pictures of the stations of
the cross. A large number of prayer books were stacked in
the rear of the church. The ornate cathedral-cum-pool hall
was only completed in 2004 at a cost of RMB 2.5 million (USD
312,000). But while the spacious church is quite new, the
congregation it services is not.

Not Exactly Gutenberg's Printing Press
--------------


5. (U) The 1,000 parishioners that make up the congregation
previously worshiped in a nearby church built in the late
1800s. That building served as the congregation's home
until the Cultural Revolution when it was converted into a
printing factory. The building later returned to the
congregation in the 1980's and was used as a church until
the early 2000's, when the land the church was on became
designated for a new building development. The land that
the current church is built was obtained in a land swap.
When the church was razed to make way for a modern building,
the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) arranged for a land swap
and assisted the congregation to obtain needed permits for a
new church.


6. (U) Church leaders, including a priest trained in
Shanghai, still owe RMB 500,000 (USD 62,000) to the
contractor who built the facility. An amount offset by the
RMB 200,000 (USD 25,000) of annual rent revenue provided by
the first floor billiard parlor. The church has received no
financial assistance from the government and has paid for
the church from its own resources, according to the
caretaker.

Salvation Versus Army
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GUANGZHOU 00015382 002 OF 002




7. (U) Not far from the opulent Catholic facility is a
smaller, less prominent Protestant church. A tan brick
building sits on the corner of two small streets, surrounded
by a black wrought-iron fence. A plaque on the front of the
church indicates that the Dongbanhou Church (named for the
neighborhood in which it sits) was built in 1918. A local
groundskeeper told Congenoffs that 1,000 parishioners
worship at several services each week.


8. (U) Like the neighboring Catholic church, religious
services in the building were suspended during the Cultural
Revolution. During that time, the facility served as
headquarters of the area's Red Army contingent.

Comment: Registered Churches Thrive Amidst Tolerance
-------------- --------------


9. (U) Religious regulation is China varies by jurisdiction
and by who heads the local office. Fujian Province appears
to be less strict than Guangdong Province, possibly in part
due to Guangdong's proximity to Hong Kong and the Falun Gong
community based there. However, even within each province,
the RAB operates at different levels of control and
cooperation with religious institutions. Zhangzhou appears
to be a place where assistance to churches has been
facilitated, though that cooperation undoubtedly is based on
the willingness of the churches to not stray from the
government-organized church program. The prominent location
of Zhangzhou's new Catholic Church is a reflection of this
cooperation. Area Catholics in Zhangzhou are not forced to
go to secret underground churches, but worship in one of the
largest, most ornate, buildings in town. While a full range
of religious choices is certainly not yet available to the
residents of Zhangzhou, local residents worship openly in
this thriving, albeit state-sanctioned, registered parish.
Likewise, Protestant believers continue to fill pews at the
well-cared for ninety-year-old Dongbanhou church. Perhaps
one day soon, they too will build a new church on top of a
pool hall.

DONG