The rise of Christianity in China

Mae Meihong Yu — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 16:09:16 +0000

Christianity and other religions have seen rapid growth in China. How does an atheist government deal with the faithful?

By Meihong Yu

Three-self church in Zhejiang province in China. It has been demolished last year.

There are about 80 million Christians in China today, according to Yang Fenggang, a sociologist in Purdue University in America. He predicts that the number is going to climb to 250 million in 2030, with China overtaking America as the largest Christian country in the world.

Religion goes underground

Since the 1950s the Chinese government has required religious organisations and venues to be registered through government agencies. Christian and Catholic parishioners must attend churches run by the government.

But religious activities are being held in Christian residences are referred as “house churches” or “underground churches.” The members in these house churches are widely believed to be far more than the legal ones registered with the government.

According to Bob Fu, the president of the United States based China Aid website campaigning against Christian persecution in China, many house church pastors and missionaries have been detained on the ambiguous charge of “illegal business operation” and “disrupting the public order.”

China’s history of religious persecution

Chinese believers of many different religions suffered during the political turmoil in 1950s-1970s, with a great number sent to labor camps.

According to Bob Fu, since the 1980s the Chinese government has tried another approach to tackle the sensitive religion issue. “They’ve adopted a policy of reform, allowing for five major religions to exist to a limited extent, but with strictly enforced government control.”

Counterfeit products reign the world

Mae Meihong Yu — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 16:34:38 +0000

Chinese counterfeit products are becoming more exquisite and irresistible for China’s newly rich who are supposed to be potential luxury-brand buyers.

Miss N is a fresh Chinese counterfeit bags online seller in Beijing, who is selling fake products as a part-time job. She graduated from a Beijing college three years ago and now works for a Public Relation firm. Here is what she reveals about the market of counterfeit products.

Question: MHY (a reporter for Life 360)

Answer: Miss N (a Chinese counterfeit bags seller)

According to Miss N, Fendi bags in her shop are more exquisite than actual ones.

Q: Why do you sell these products as a part-time job?

A: I think it might be a good way to make money. One of my friend is doing this. So i decided to do it.

Q: How much can a seller earn each month?Can you live a good life by selling these products?
A: Some people can do really well, making thousands of yuan (hundreds of pounds) a day when business is good. It’s a bit hard for beginners. The flow of money is unstable now. I can only sell one bag every several days. But i think it will be OK.

Q: What is your newest batch of products？How much are they?
A: They are Channel Reissue, worth from 3,800 to 4,800 (about €543 to €686).

Q: According to your knowledge, who are the buyers? Are they affluent people in China?
A: Most of them are white-collar workers. They want luxury-brand stuff while they can’t afford them. But i know some of them are really rich, those who own luxury cars, like Mercedes Benz and BMW. They sometime buy authentic ones, while sometimes buy our products.

The customs certificate, identity card and instructions of a Chanel bag.

Q: In general, what is the schedule of your restocking? Is that depending on specific orders of costumers?
A: The sellers of these products are divided into several levels. The first-hand products are not available for everyone of us. Generally, the top level sellers purchase products directly from factories, but I can only stock up from other agencies.

Q: How can the factories produce exquisite products? Can you give any details?

A: Now in the market, most of the products are produced in Canton or Fujian (two southern cities in China), and small part of them is from HongKong or Taiwan. Some factories buy authentic bags and explore every parts of these bags, and then create fake products as similar to the actual bags as they can. People can’t tell the difference except if they go to the real counter to compare. High-quality counterfeit products go through complicated procedures. Some of the accessories of the bags, such as package bags and zips, are produced in different factories.The quality is really good.

Q: What do you think of the future of the market of fake products in China?