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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 013576 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
PACOM FOR FPA 
 
TAGS: KIRF PHUM PGOV SCUL CH
SUBJECT: RELIGION IN XIAMEN: TRUE TO FORM, OFFICIAL NUMBERS 
LOWBALL IT 
 
 
(U) THIS DOCUMENT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE 
PROTECT ACCORDINGLY.  NOT FOR RELEASE OUTSIDE U.S. 
GOVERNMENT CHANNELS.  NOT FOR INTERNET PUBLICATION. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  During a visit to Xiamen's religious 
affairs bureau, an official provided numbers that, almost 
certainly, underestimate the true size of Xiamen's flocks. 
The official also stressed the separation between education 
and religion in Xiamen, and that there were no formal links 
between Xiamen's Catholics and the Vatican.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On April 27, Congenoff met with Vice Section Chief 
Zeng Wenying, of the Xiamen Nationalities and Religious 
Affairs Bureau, to discuss the state of religion in the 
city.  All of China's five official religions -- Buddhism, 
Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam and Taoism -- are present 
in Xiamen.  Each religion has a local association in Xiamen, 
except for the Protestants, who have two.  (Note:  All of 
these associations are essentially local chapters of 
national religious organizations.  End note.)  There are 
1,524 religious venues in Xiamen, and these are administered 
directly by the religious associations. 
 
Buddhists, unsurprisingly, top the list 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) According to Zeng, the six associations together 
muster some 70,000 believers.  They include 40,000 
Buddhists, 20,000 Protestants, 2,700 Muslims and 700 
Catholics; the number of Taoists is "difficult to 
calculate."  The different groups "coexist peacefully" and 
are "free of any government interference."  Based on an 
untrained observation of the crowd leaving the local mosque 
on a Friday afternoon, a significant proportion of Xiamen's 
Muslim population hails from China's northwest. 
 
Lots of monks 
------------- 
 
¶4. (U) To serve the needs of these believers, there are 
approximately 600 religious professionals in Xiamen.  These 
include 530 Buddhists, 56 Protestants, four Catholics, three 
Muslims and "twenty-odd" Taoists.  Xiamen is also home to 
Minnan Buddhist College, which forms aspiring monks, 
currently enrolling 320 students, 200 of which are female. 
 
For our foreign friends 
----------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Noting that many foreign-invested companies call 
Xiamen home, Zeng mentioned that there is a Christian church 
that caters to the needs of local expatriates.  Meeting at a 
local hotel, it offers services in English every Sunday, 
drawing between 100 and 200, mostly American, followers. 
Entry to this service is only granted to foreign passport 
holders.  (Note:  Dell and Kodak both operate large 
facilities in Xiamen.  The city also has a small diplomatic 
community.  End note.) 
 
Unofficial religions 
-------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Zeng acknowledged there are also some unofficial 
religions in Xiamen.  Asked whether these were mostly of 
Christian inspiration, Zeng clarified that these religions 
were not unofficial variants of any of the five recognized 
religions.  What we were talking about, said Zeng, were 
"folk religions," without "strict rules," that worshipped 
ancestors, historic figures or "multiple gods." 
 
How Catholic can the Catholics be? 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Asked about the relationship between the local 
Catholic community and the Vatican, Zeng stated that, 
although it is acknowledged that Catholics "worship and 
respect" the Pope, there are no direct links between the 
local Catholics and Rome. 
 
The thorny question of religious education 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) Turning to the issue of religious education in 
Xiamen, a somewhat defensive Zeng stated that it is national 
policy to separate education and religion.  There is no 
religious education in public schools, and parochial schools 
are banned.  Zeng mentioned that some religious groups have 
 
GUANGZHOU 00013576  002 OF 002 
 
 
organized activities such as summer camps, but admitted that 
type of event was relatively infrequent. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Asked about Sunday schools or similar activities 
that could complement children's secular education, Zeng 
replied, with just a hint of irritation, that, "in Xiamen, 
most Christian followers are adults."  Nonetheless, children 
can attend and listen to services. 
 
¶10. (U) Later that day, during a visit to the Protestant New 
District Gospel Church of Xiamen, the congregation's senior 
pastor, Li Lihui, said that the church did not offer Sunday 
school or any similar activity geared towards children.  The 
church building did have a couple of playrooms, where 
children could stay during Sunday services. 
 
Comment: Once again, numbers off 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) As in other localities within our consular 
district, Xiamen's official numbers on religion do not seem 
to gel with the reality on the ground.  According to the 
municipal labor bureau, Xiamen's population tops 2.25 
million.  This means that, even tripling the number of 
registered believers, less than 6% of Xiamen's population 
practices Buddhism.  The frenzied level of activity found 
during a recent visit to Nanputuo Temple seriously calls 
this into question.  In all likelihood, there are scores of 
unregistered Buddhists and Christians, either because they 
do not care to formalize their allegiance or because they 
disagree in principle with the idea of registration. 
Alternatively, their participation in religious activity may 
be partial, casual or both.  Post does not believe this 
underestimation is evidence of any malicious intent on 
either the believers' or government's part, to hide the true 
extent of the general population's religious devotion. 
Nonetheless, the official numbers almost certainly present 
an incomplete picture of Xiamen's religiosity. 
 
DONG