BEIJING: The Chinese government has asked all provinces to curb the construction of large outdoor religious statues in a bid to prevent “commercialisation” of Buddhist and Taoist religions.
“The crackdown must be resolute. We cannot give up halfway. The phenomenon still largely exists across China,” said
Zhu Weiqun, former chairman of the ethnic and religious committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
The Chinese government is officially atheist but the constitution recognises Buddhism and
Taoism to the extent they are practiced privately and in officially approved shrines. More than 70% of Chinese are known to be atheist shunning religious practices even on occasions like marriages. But widening knowledge owing to the Internet has resulted in a dramatic rise in spiritual interest.
The ruling
Communist Party is worried about the new trend because it goes against its core beliefs. Beijing has asked the local governments to create specific plans for regulating the construction of any new large outdoor religious statues