BEIJING: A Chinese official accused “anti-China forces” in the West of using Christianity to subvert the country’s political power and said worshippers must follow a Chinese form of religion.

China’s officially atheist government, which oversees religious groups through state-sponsored institutions, has tightened its grip on all faiths in recent years.

“Anti-China forces in the West are attempting to continue to influence the social stability of our country through Christianity, and even subvert the political power of our country,” Xu Xiaohong, chairman of the state-backed National Three-Self Patriotic Move­ment Committee, which oversees the Protestant churches, said on Monday.

Speaking at the annual gathering of the Chinese People’s Political Consul­tative Conference (CPPCC), a largely ceremonial advisory body, Xu described the introduction of Christianity in China as “accompanying the intense colonial aggression by the West”.

Only by incorporating Chinese culture into Christianity would the religion become something Chinese people could identify with, said Xu.

For those who “subvert national security in the name of Christianity, we support the country in bringing them to justice,” he added.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2019