Christmas with the virus + Capital flight • China.Table

Religious struggle for Christmas
Wealthy Chinese flock to Singapore
Entry relaxations take shape
Chinese buy fever medicine abroad
Chinese military aircraft near Taiwan
Philippines: Tensions in the South China Sea
Johnny Erling on China’s words of the year
Change of leadership at Xiaomi and Douyin

Dear reader,

Tomorrow is Christmas. A holiday that also plays an important role in China. And not just as a consumer holiday. Officially, around 44 million Christians live in China. According to estimates, their number could actually be as high as 100 million, if the members of the so-called “underground” or “house churches” are included. These operate in a gray area. They are tolerated, but under Xi Jinping their freedoms have since been curtailed. And the pandemic has also made the work of the churches even harder. Fabian Peltsch reports on how China’s Christians celebrate Christmas.

China’s increasingly ideology-driven policies are a nightmare for wealthy Chinese. They have long benefited from the country’s economic reforms, but they fear for their wealth, especially after the Party Congress in October. The only question is – where to put their money? Hong Kong is no longer an alternative, because Beijing’s influence is now also too great there. Singapore is much more tempting. Joern Petring reports on how the upper class is making its way to the city-state.

Every year, the word of the year is chosen. In Germany, it is hardly worth more than a short news story. Perhaps even a smirk, when the youth word of the year is read out on the news with a straight face. China also chooses the word of the year. But while suggestions from the population were once welcome, the word of the year has long since become a political matter under Xi Jinping. China picks different words for in- and outside the country, and of course one of the two sides comes off particularly well. Johnny Erling explains how China looks for its words of the year.

Next week, we will be sitting under the Christmas tree instead of the China.Table. Our editors are taking a short Christmas break. What has been going on in China has kept us on our toes, especially in the second half of the year. We hope that you have enjoyed our reports. While we all recharge our batteries for the new year, we will of course be keeping a close eye on the news situation in China. Naturally, we will keep you up to date on any extraordinary developments in the form of a special edition.

We wish you relaxing days, a peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year!

Your
Julia Fiedler

Feature

Christmas between consumerism and religious struggle

Christmas decorations in a mall in Hong Kong. On the Mainland, too, the festive mood is mainly focused on shopping centers.

Christmas is not just a consumer holiday in China, either. For many Chinese Christians, Christmas Eve is the most important holiday of the year. Since the pandemic, however, unofficial house churches have encountered more obstacles than usual.

By
Fabian Peltsch

In recent years, Chinese nationalists repeatedly called for Christmas boycotts. At Nanjing University in 2018, for example, students were urged to stop celebrating “foreign festivals.” “We celebrate only Chinese holidays,” was the message from the administration. The governments of several cities in Hebei, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces also banned Christmas decorations from public spaces in the past. But this was more the result of patriotic zeal.

Christmas is not officially forbidden in China. Christmas decorations can still be found on every corner and Santa Clauses dangle from the ceiling in shopping malls. Decorated plastic trees advertise the latest Christmas discounts. Hardly anyone associates the holiday with the birth of Jesus in this consumerist atmosphere. Young Chinese celebrate Christmas more as a kind of Valentine’s Day, posting romantic winter pictures, for example, of ice skating or slurping cinnamon-rich winter editions at Starbucks. And they are, after all, at the source: China is still the world’s largest producer of Christmas decorations.

The Christmas story is subversive for the CCP

But many Christians in China also consider Christmas the most important holiday of the year – even more important than the Spring Festival. Masses could once again be held in the official state churches this year, depending on the pandemic situation – China has a state church that has broken away from the pope and recognizes the Communist Party as the highest authority. There is also an underground church, loyal to the Vatican, which holds its congregations mostly in private rooms. Officially, about 44 million Christians live in China. According to the American human rights organization Freedom House, the number is probably closer to 100 million, if members of the so-called “underground” or “house churches” are included.

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