WENZHOU, China — The Chinese government has justified as “protecting religious freedom” its new new crackdown on unauthorized religious activity in Wenzhou city in Zhejiang province.
Reports, confirmed by the government, said hundreds of temples and churches in the southeastern region were destroyed.
“It is clear that China has been carrying out a policy of protecting religious freedom," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told Reuters.
A spokesperson for Wenzhou city’s propaganda department told the Associated Press the government has destroyed about 450 buildings since early December, but the Hong Kong-based International Center for Human Rights reports that 1,200 buildings have been destroyed with dynamite.
Wenzhou is known for its thriving religious community, which includes several small Christian churches established by Europeans in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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