The Chinese Communist Party seemed to be desperate to remove faith in China after ordering a well-known church to sell Mao Zedong's "Little Red Book" and Xi Jinping's "The Governance of China" instead of the Bible, according to reports.
According to the International Christian Concern, the Sha Mian Tang Church in Guangzhou, China displayed Mao's book along with President Xi Jinping's book in their church library. ICC said the Sha Mian Tang Church is a famous church after being host to the second Canton Union Theological College in 1994-2001.
CCP through its Administration for Religious Affairs have previously ordered Christians to study Xi's book so they could memorize his speeches, ICC noted
The ICC also cited a Catholic Church in Jiangxi that displays CCP literature and banners instead of Bibles. This is the result of China's attempt "to control and influence the thoughts of Christian citizens through the means noted, and to bring the Christian church as a subordinate group" based on an article by ChinaAid.
"The bookstore of Sha Mian Tang Church, a well-known Christian church in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, displayed a large number of the book, The Governance of China, written by Xi Jinping, as well as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s 'Little Red Book.' Sha Mian Tang's gospel bookstore, however, did not display any collections of gospel books," ChinaAid said in its report.
ChinaAid explained that Chinese American Author Ju Yie exposed the matter through a post made on Facebook last April 11 after being "shocked" on seeing the books.
"The gospel bookstore of Guangzhou Christian Church-Shamian Church, displayed a large number of Xi Jinping's books. Seeing this kind of photo on Sunday morning really shocked me," Jie said in the post that included the photo of the church's bookstore and interiors.
The photo of the bookstore showed red books dominating the shelves. Red is a symbolic color of CCP that marks its "revolution, the left, Socialism, and Communism," ChinaAid noted. The photo also showed books of Xi whose cover contained his photos.
Xi's book features a collection of his "reports, speeches, conversations, instructions, and congratulatory letters, collected from the beginning of his regime," ChinaAid noted. Although named after him, the book was written by CCP professionals that organized the collection and annotated it based on "his tenure as China's ruler."
In addition to instructions given by CCP through its Administration for Religious Affairs, ChinaAid disclosed that the Zhongshan Ethnic and Religious Bureau of Guangdong Province also instructed Christians and the religious sector to host seminars or workshops on Xi's book and on the "Sinicization of religion in China."
Last March, the CCP set out its plans to enforce more control on Catholics through its 100th Anniversary celebration, which is set on July 23, 2021. Part of the plan was a symposium to be attended by Catholics in China on "formation courses with the Central Institute of Socialism".
Early May, the CCP has already shut down Bible Apps and set out a new crackdown on WeChat Christian accounts while demanding schools to teach the Chinese Communist Propaganda and Party line. Previous reports also stated that, despite its multiple efforts, the Chinese Communist Party's Plan of Sinicization on Christians in China won't stop Christianity there.
