Communist Party officials banned from celebrating Christmas in Hengyang
The War on Christmas continues…
The Henan city of Hengyang is taking a no-nonsense stance this year against yuletide greetings and gaiety, banning Communist Party officials from participating in any Christmas celebrations.
Last week, the city’s public security bureau published a notice directing Party cadres to “resist the rampant Western festival” in order to “build confidence toward socialist culture and carry forward traditional Chinese culture,” reports the Global Times.
Close family members of public officials have also been banned from doing any sort of yo ho ho-ing this holiday season, in order to avoid infecting the ideals of the Party with Christmas cheer. In addition, students were encouraged to maintain a “rational attitude” and stay well-clear of Western religious festivals.
Last week, the Communist Youth League at a university in Shenyang went so far as to issue a notice banning student groups from holding Christmas celebrations on campus, in order to “resist corrosion from Western culture.”
Of course, Communist Party of China members have long been warned against doing anything Western or religious, and wouldn’t be caught dead openly celebrating Christmas anyway. However, this message has been reinforced in recent years with officials becoming subject to increased scrutiny about their personal and religious values.
“Party members should be firm Marxist atheists, obey Party rules and stick to the Party’s faith… they are not allowed to seek value and belief in religion,” warned the director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs back in July of this year.
Last December, Wang Qishan, then director of China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, also warned CPC members against believing in “ghosts and supernatural beings,” stating that such beliefs undermine the founding principles of socialism.
Instead, officials will simply have to spend Christmas studying up on “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” and possibly “copying the Communist Party constitution.”
