Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God

Wenzhou bans Christmas celebrations in schools and universities

12/27/2014

CHINA

As police stops woman who tried to "bring the Gospel" to Xi Jinping, Wenzhou bans Christmas celebrations in schools and universities

by Wang Zhicheng

The woman, a member of an underground Protestant community, denies having mental problems, but wants to spread the Gospel to change party members' "corrupt thoughts". In Wenzhou (Zhejiang), the authorities crack down on Christmas celebrations, deemed "Western spiritual pollution". Surveys indicated that some 60 per cent of university students want to learn about Christianity. In Beijing, 3,000 people are baptised on Christmas night. Zhejiang supplies 60 per cent of the world's Christmas decorations. 

Beijing (AsiaNews/RFA) - Chinese police detained a Protestant woman who on Christmas Day tried to put up placards outside the Zhongnanhai, the exclusive government and Communist Party headquarters, located near the Imperial Palace.

Zhou Jinxia, who hails from the port city of Dalian in Liaoning province, tried to put up posters in a bid to "spread the gospel" to President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan. One placard read, "God, who loves the world, is calling Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan".

After her arrest, the police took her to a psychiatric unit for a check-up, but she denied having any form of mental illness.

For years, Zhou had tried to petition the authorities to obtain justice after she was evicted from her home without compensation.

After several failed attempts, she joined an underground Protestant house church and has tried in the past two years to spread the Gospel in order to change the "corrupt thoughts" of many people in China.

Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign possibly led her to hope that the president would bring justice to her, in the name of freedom of religion.

Before police took her away, Zhou said she was not worried about her fate. "I will accept whatever comes," she is quoted as saying.

Despite the amateurish nature of Zhou's action, such an incident shows that Christianity is becoming important for many people disillusioned by the corruption among politicians and members of the Communist Party.

For several years, a virtual rush to convert to Christianity has been underway in China, both in its Protestant and Catholic versions.

According to some reports, some 3,000 people, mostly young people, were baptised on Christmas night, in Beijing alone.

In Wenzhou, the local Department of Education has issued a directive to limit Christianity's appeal to young people, banning Christmas events and celebrations in schools and kindergartens, deemed "kitsch" and "un-Chinese". The crackdown has also been spreading to universities and colleges nationwide.

Since China opened up to foreign trade, Christmas trees, Santa Clauses, greeting cards and even crèches have spread widely. Although 25 December is a working day, thousands of young non-Christians attend church services in order to understand what Christmas is about. Eventually, many of them eventually sign up for the catechumenate and being baptised.

According to a survey conducted a few years ago at universities in Beijing and Shanghai, at least 60 per cent of young people are interested in learning about Christianity.

The directive issued by Wenzhou authorities is part of a wider pattern, which includes a campaign to tear down crosses and religious buildings launched in Zhejiang by the local party secretary whose primary purpose is to reduce the influence of Christianity in society, deemed "Western spiritual pollution."

Ironically, Zhejiang - in particular the city of Yiwu - lives off Christmas. About 60 per cent of all Christmas decorations sold in the world are manufactured in the province.

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/As-police-stops-woman-who-tried-to-bring-the-Gospel-to-Xi-Jinping,-Wenzhou-bans-Christmas-celebrations-in-schools-and-universities-33055.html

Warning to Christian Fundamentalists: Sedition Act

Posted on June 11, 2009 by thesunshineson

http://thesunshineson.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/warning-to-christian-fundamentalists-sedition-act/

Coming close at the heels of the Aware saga and the concern over Christian fundamentalism taking root in Singapore, the 8 weeks jail is a warning that the government will get tough and tougher.  Ong Kian Cheong and Dorothy Chan were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. If the Aware saga did not explode as it did, the couple would probably have gotten a lighter sentence and a slap on the wrist. But jail sentences won’t stop fundamentalists, it might be their badge of faith instead. Maybe they should be rehabilitated like the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists held under the ISA.

Couple sentenced to 8 weeks jail for distributing seditious publications

SINGAPORE : A couple, found guilty last month of distributing seditious or objectionable publications, has been sentenced to 8 weeks jail each.

50-year-old SingTel technical officer Ong Kian Cheong and his 46-year-old wife, UBS associate director Dorothy Chan Hien Leng, had been found guilty on four charges each of sedition.

For two decades, the couple spread their faith by handing out religious pamphlets, and then by dropping tracts into random HDB letterboxes.

From around 1998, however, the couple, both Protestant Christians, mailed them to addresses picked out from the telephone directory – those of Muslims included.

They “clearly did so with the intent of convincing the Muslim reader to convert to Christianity”, a district court found.

For distributing and possessing seditious and objectionable publications, husband and wife were sentenced to eight weeks’ jail each on Wednesday.

Such “intolerance, insensitivity and ignorance of delicate issues concerning race and religion” in Singapore “clearly warranted” a custodial sentence, said District Judge Roy Neighbour.

In the first full trial heard under the Sedition Act, the married couple of 24 years was found guilty on May 28 of the charges.

In 2007, Mr Irwan Ariffin, 32, and Madam Farhati Ahmad, 36, received an evangelistic comic-style booklet titled The Little Bride through the mail while Mr Isa Raffee, 35, was sent Who Is Allah?.

After a complaint to the police, an ambush was laid and the pair was arrested on Jan 30 last year.

Found in their condominium in Bukit Timah were 439 copies of 11 seditious tracts.

During the 11-day trial, it emerged that the SingTel technical officer and his wife, sent out about 20,000 publications in seven years.

Produced by an American firm called Chick Publications, the fundamentalist Protestant materials were “not only offensive for religious content but also have a tendency to promote feelings of ill-will or hostility between Muslims and Christians in Singapore”, said Judge Neighbour.

By distributing tracts with “callous, denigratory, offensive and insensitive statements on religion with aspersions on race”, the pair had committed “serious” offences that “have the capacity to undermine and erode the delicate fabric of racial and religious harmony in Singapore”.

Common sense, he said, dictated that religious fervor to spread the faith, “in our society, must be constrained by sensitivity, tolerance and mutual respect for another’s faith and religious beliefs”.

Ong and Chan were expressionless when sentenced.

Their lawyer Selva K Naidu told the court that they had filed a notice of appeal against the conviction last Friday. He was awaiting instructions to proceed.

The pair faced two charges of distributing seditious publications each, and one each of distributing an objectionable publication and possession of seditious tracts.

They got four weeks’ jail for each charge – two of them running consecutively and the remaining to run concurrently.

They could have been fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to three years for each of the two charges.

The possession charge carries a maximum fine of $2,000 and/or jail for up to 18 months. Distributing objectionable publications is punishable with a fine not exceeding $5,000 and/or up to one year behind bars. – CNA /ls

Singapore: Evangelical Christians jailed for 'sedition', for distributing booklets which questioned Islam

http://islamizationwatch.blogspot.sg/2009/06/singapore-evangelical-christians-jailed.html

The first full case of sedition or rebellion against a government in Singapore, was against those distributing evangelical Christian leaflets.

They “clearly did so with the intent of convincing the Muslim reader to convert to Christianity”, a district court found.

The pair had committed “serious” offences that “have the capacity to undermine and erode the delicate fabric of racial and religious harmony in Singapore”.

As for the racial and religious harmony - as the UK Labour government made similar references - with regards to those who would criticize Islam.

Singapore, 10 June (AKI) - A Christian couple were jailed for eight weeks in Singapore on Wednesday for distributing evangelical publications considered "seditious". A district court judge earlier had found Ong Kian Cheong, 50, and Dorothy Chan, 46, guilty of sedition for "distributing seditious or objectionable publications".

In sentencing them, district judge Roy Neighbour said the couple's offences affected the foundation of Singaporean society and public policy required the court to apply the principle of deterrence in punishing them, according to local daily, The Straits Times.

But the prison terms the couple received were at the lower end of what the prosecution had urged the court to impose.

It had sought a sentence of between two and six months.

The couple were found guilty on four charges late last month in the first full trial under the Sedition Act to be heard in Singapore.

Neighbour noted that Ong, a technical officer and Chan, an associate director with financial firm UBS, said that neither had realised they were doing anything wrong.

"They have the capacity to undermine and erode the delicate fabric of racial and religious harmony in Singapore," said Neighbour, cited in The Straits Times.

He added that as Singaporeans, the husband and wife cannot claim to be ignorant of the sensitivity of race and religion in Singapore's multi-racial and religious society.

"Common sense dictates that religious fervour to spread the faith, in our society, must be constrained by sensitivity, tolerance and mutual respect for another's faith and religious beliefs," said the judge.

50-year-old SingTel technical officer Ong Kian Cheong and his 46-year-old wife, UBS associate director Dorothy Chan Hien Leng, had been found guilty on four charges each of sedition.

For two decades, the couple spread their faith by handing out religious pamphlets, and then by dropping tracts into random HDB letterboxes.

From around 1998, however, the couple, both Protestant Christians, mailed them to addresses picked out from the telephone directory – those of Muslims included.

They “clearly did so with the intent of convincing the Muslim reader to convert to Christianity”, a district court found.

For distributing and possessing seditious and objectionable publications, husband and wife were sentenced to eight weeks’ jail each on Wednesday.

Such “intolerance, insensitivity and ignorance of delicate issues concerning race and religion” in Singapore “clearly warranted” a custodial sentence, said District Judge Roy Neighbour.

In the first full trial heard under the Sedition Act, the married couple of 24 years was found guilty on May 28 of the charges.

In 2007, Mr Irwan Ariffin, 32, and Madam Farhati Ahmad, 36, received an evangelistic comic-style booklet titled 'The Little Bride' through the mail while Mr Isa Raffee, 35, was sent 'Who Is Allah?'.

After a complaint to the police, an ambush was laid and the pair was arrested on Jan 30 last year.

Found in their condominium in Bukit Timah were 439 copies of 11 seditious tracts.

During the 11-day trial, it emerged that the SingTel technical officer and his wife, sent out about 20,000 publications in seven years.

Produced by an American firm called Chick Publications, the fundamentalist Protestant materials were “not only offensive for religious content but also have a tendency to promote feelings of ill-will or hostility between Muslims and Christians in Singapore”, said Judge Neighbour.

By distributing tracts with “callous, denigratory, offensive and insensitive statements on religion with aspersions on race”, the pair had committed “serious” offences that “have the capacity to undermine and erode the delicate fabric of racial and religious harmony in Singapore”.

Common sense, he said, dictated that religious fervor to spread the faith, “in our society, must be constrained by sensitivity, tolerance and mutual respect for another’s faith and religious beliefs”.

Ong and Chan were expressionless when sentenced.

Their lawyer Selva K Naidu told the court that they had filed a notice of appeal against the conviction last Friday. He was awaiting instructions to proceed.

The pair faced two charges of distributing seditious publications each, and one each of distributing an objectionable publication and possession of seditious tracts.

They got four weeks’ jail for each charge – two of them running consecutively and the remaining to run concurrently.

They could have been fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to three years for each of the two charges.

The possession charge carries a maximum fine of $2,000 and/or jail for up to 18 months. Distributing objectionable publications is punishable with a fine not exceeding $5,000 and/or up to one year behind bars. – CNA /ls

Lee Kuan Yew was opposed to Chinese education

Lee Kuan Yew was opposed to Chinese education

Lee Kuan Yew was opposed to Chinese education

November 23, 2014

Despite being a Chinese, Lee made English the main language in Singapore and shut all Chinese and Tamil schools.

COMMENT

Roslan Bistamam

 There is an interesting posting by Zainuddin Maidin a.k.a. Zam in his blog regarding how one-time Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was opposed to Chinese education and Chinese schools. (READ HERE http://zamkata.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/lee-kuan-yew-saya-saja-boleh-ajar-orang_22.html)

Lee was reported to have said that only he is able to teach the Chinese, meaning keep the Chinese in check. This was mentioned in the book “Men in White: The Untold Story of Singapore’s Ruling Political Party”.

“After 1965, we had to make a decision on the common language. If we made Chinese the common language then Chinese culture would be dominant and it would have led to a breakup in society,” said Lee.

1965 was when Singapore left Malaysia. The Chinese then demanded that Lee make Chinese the official language of Singapore. Lee, however, made English the main language and all other languages were to be given equal status. Lee then closed down all the Chinese schools, colleges and universities and replaced them with English medium institutions. Lee also closed the Tamil schools.

Lee then summoned the Chinese language activists for a meeting and warned them that he would not allow Chinese language to be exploited as a political issue. When the activists persisted, Lee arrested them and deported those who were Malaysian citizens.

It is surprising that Malaysian Chinese are quite militant about Chinese schools and Chinese education whereas in a ‘Chinese’ island state like Singapore they cannot get away with half of what they get away with in Malaysia.

The Chinese condemn Umno as a racist party for not meeting all their demands while Singapore will not give them an inch and yet Lee Kuan Yew is not regarded as a racist or anti-Chinese.

The Chinese lament about why Malaysia can’t be just like Singapore. If Malaysia did become just like Singapore that would be the end of Chinese schools and Chinese education in Malaysia.

I suppose the Chinese should be grateful that Umno is not like PAP and Najib Tun Razak is not like Lee Kuan Yew. If not there will be only one type of school in Malaysia.

I wonder if they have Chinese schools in Japan or does everyone have to learn Japanese to get an education in Japan?

Roslan Bistamam is an FMT columnist

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Why Are Some Cultures More Individualistic Than Others?

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