VZCZCXRO5405
RR RUEHAG RUEHCN RUEHDF RUEHGH RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHGZ #5382/01 1440830
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240830Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8710
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
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RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 015382 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB, R, EAP/CM, EAP/PD, DRL 
STATE PASS USTR - STRATFORD, CELICO 
USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, DAS LEVINE 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PGOV ECON CH
SUBJECT: Long March: Searching for God in Fujian 
 
Ref:  A) Guangzhou 13384 B) Guangzhou 13385 C) Guangzhou 
 
13562 D) Guangzhou 14707 E) Guangzhou 14818 F) Guangzhou 
14936 
 
THIS DOCUMENT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  IT SHOULD NOT 
BE DISSEMINATED OUTSIDE OF U.S. GOVERNMENT CHANNELS OR IN 
ANY PUBLIC FORUM WITHOUT THE WRITTEN CONCURRENCE OF THE 
ORIGINATOR.  IT SHOULD NOT BE POSTED ON THE INTERNET. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Two churches near Zhangzhou's city 
center denote Zhangzhou's relatively relaxed approach to 
religious practice.  The city's new Catholic Church sits 
prominently in the city center, replacing a nearby older 
church torn down in recent years.  The church pays for its 
upkeep by renting out the bottom floor as a pool hall.  A 
smaller Protestant Church built in 1918 reminds visitors of 
the area's religious history.  Both churches each have 
approximately 1,000 worshippers attending services each 
week.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (U) During Consulate Guangzhou's "Long March" (ref A) the 
Consul General and Congenoffs visited Zhangzhou Prefecture 
in southwest Fujian Province.  After official meetings in 
the city Congenoffs requested to visit a neighboring 
Catholic church they had seen the day before.  Foreign 
Affairs officials took the group to see both the 
Catholic Church and a nearby Protestant Church as well. 
 
Zhangzhou: Capital Z Rhymes With P, Stands For Pool 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶3. (U) In the heart of Zhangzhou city a giant white Catholic 
church towers above the treetops of a city park.  From a 
distance, the building looks like a typical European style 
church with three domed towers topped with golden 
crucifixes.  From closer up, however, visitors also see a 
modern billiard parlor occupying the first floor of the 
building. 
 
¶4. (U) Arriving unannounced at the gate of the new edifice, 
Congenoffs were met by a groundskeeper who answered 
questions and gave the group a tour of the chapel and its 
grounds.  The sanctuary is a large, high-ceiling concrete 
structure with a single level of seating, and spacious front 
area for the priest and worship leaders to lead masses. 
While simple in decor, the walls hold a large crucifix 
holding a statue of Christ, and pictures of the stations of 
the cross.  A large number of prayer books were stacked in 
the rear of the church.  The ornate cathedral-cum-pool hall 
was only completed in 2004 at a cost of RMB 2.5 million (USD 
312,000).  But while the spacious church is quite new, the 
congregation it services is not. 
 
Not Exactly Gutenberg's Printing Press 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) The 1,000 parishioners that make up the congregation 
previously worshiped in a nearby church built in the late 
1800s.  That building served as the congregation's home 
until the Cultural Revolution when it was converted into a 
printing factory.  The building later returned to the 
congregation in the 1980's and was used as a church until 
the early 2000's, when the land the church was on became 
designated for a new building development.  The land that 
the current church is built was obtained in a land swap. 
When the church was razed to make way for a modern building, 
the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) arranged for a land swap 
and assisted the congregation to obtain needed permits for a 
new church. 
 
¶6. (U) Church leaders, including a priest trained in 
Shanghai, still owe RMB 500,000 (USD 62,000) to the 
contractor who built the facility.  An amount offset by the 
RMB 200,000 (USD 25,000) of annual rent revenue provided by 
the first floor billiard parlor.  The church has received no 
financial assistance from the government and has paid for 
the church from its own resources, according to the 
caretaker. 
 
Salvation Versus Army 
--------------------- 
 
GUANGZHOU 00015382  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) Not far from the opulent Catholic facility is a 
smaller, less prominent Protestant church.  A tan brick 
building sits on the corner of two small streets, surrounded 
by a black wrought-iron fence.  A plaque on the front of the 
church indicates that the Dongbanhou Church (named for the 
neighborhood in which it sits) was built in 1918.  A local 
groundskeeper told Congenoffs that 1,000 parishioners 
worship at several services each week. 
 
¶8. (U) Like the neighboring Catholic church, religious 
services in the building were suspended during the Cultural 
Revolution.  During that time, the facility served as 
headquarters of the area's Red Army contingent. 
 
Comment: Registered Churches Thrive Amidst Tolerance 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶9. (U) Religious regulation is China varies by jurisdiction 
and by who heads the local office.  Fujian Province appears 
to be less strict than Guangdong Province, possibly in part 
due to Guangdong's proximity to Hong Kong and the Falun Gong 
community based there.  However, even within each province, 
the RAB operates at different levels of control and 
cooperation with religious institutions.  Zhangzhou appears 
to be a place where assistance to churches has been 
facilitated, though that cooperation undoubtedly is based on 
the willingness of the churches to not stray from the 
government-organized church program.  The prominent location 
of Zhangzhou's new Catholic Church is a reflection of this 
cooperation.  Area Catholics in Zhangzhou are not forced to 
go to secret underground churches, but worship in one of the 
largest, most ornate, buildings in town.  While a full range 
of religious choices is certainly not yet available to the 
residents of Zhangzhou, local residents worship openly in 
this thriving, albeit state-sanctioned, registered parish. 
Likewise, Protestant believers continue to fill pews at the 
well-cared for ninety-year-old Dongbanhou church.  Perhaps 
one day soon, they too will build a new church on top of a 
pool hall. 
 
DONG