“Too Excessive and Too Haphazard”: How a Chinese Province Began Demolishing Churches as Illegal Structures

• Authorities in Zhejiang demolished Wenzhou’s Sanjiang Church in April 2014
• Officials called it an illegal structure with safety hazards
• At least 64 churches had been demolished or had crosses removed by mid-May
• Plans reportedly covered more than 400 religious sites

In 2014 the government of Zhejiang province in eastern China began tearing down churches and crosses under the banner of removing illegal structures, the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China reported on 6 June 2014. The most prominent target was Sanjiang Church, a government-registered Three-Self church in Oubei township, Yongjia county, Wenzhou.

Excavators demolished Sanjiang Church at the end of April 2014. Authorities said the building contained “safety hazards” and was an “illegal structure.” According to China Digital Times, officials said parts of the building were illegal and the church had been given the chance to remove them.

The commission found that the church was not an isolated case. Citing UCA News, it said authorities planned to “rectify” more than 400 religious sites, most of them Christian churches. By 18 May 2014, at least 64 churches across Zhejiang had been demolished or had their crosses removed.

Internal documents, the commission said, pointed to a wish to control “excessive religious sites” and overly popular religious activity. Feng Zhili, chairman of Zhejiang’s Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee, told a February 2014 meeting that the growth of Christianity had been “too excessive and too haphazard.”

The Zhejiang campaign shows how planning and building rules can be used as a tool against congregations. When the state controls the definition of a legal structure, a church’s building permits become its first line of defence.

Jamaica’s churches enjoy religious freedom, but the practical lesson still applies: a church that has built strictly within its approvals, with plans and permits on file, is far better protected in any dispute. Congregations that have extended buildings without approval should regularise them, because paperwork is often what decides whether a building stands.

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