The coastal city of Wenzhou is sometimes called China\u2019s Jerusalem. Ringed by mountains and far from the capital, Beijing, it has long been a haven for a religion that China\u2019s Communist leaders view with deep unease: Christianity. Most cities of its size, with about 9m people, have no more than a dozen or so visibly Christian buildings. Until recently, in Wenzhou, hundreds of crosses decorated church roofs.<\/p>\n
This year, however, more than 230 have been classed as \u201cillegal structures\u201d\u009d and removed. Videos posted on the internet show crowds of parishioners trying to form a human shield around their churches. Dozens have been injured. Other films show weeping believers defiantly singing hymns as huge red crosses are hoisted off the buildings. In April one of Wenzhou\u2019s largest churches was completely demolished. Officials are untroubled by the clash between the city\u2019s famously freewheeling capitalism and the Communist Party\u2019s ideology, yet still see religion and its symbols as affronts to the party\u2019s atheism.<\/p>\n