Following a government campaign to remove crosses from churches in the guise of demolishing illegal structures, the Chinese province of Zhejiang, also known as China's Jerusalem because of its heavily Christian population, has formally drafted a regulation that sets the guidelines on the use and display of crosses in Christian establishments.
According to a report by The New York Times, the 36 page document laid down very strict measures with regard to the location and styles of crosses on display.
In particular, it stated that the crosses must be placed "on the facades of buildings, not above them."
It also stated that the colour must blend with that of the building and that they must be small, and no more than one tenth the height of the building's façade.
The draft regulation also details architectural limits for Christian establishments.
For Catholic church crosses, a height-to-width ratio of one to 0.618 was prescribed while for Protestant crosses, the ratio should be three to two. The document also required the use of solar power and renewable energy sources for church facilities like bathrooms and kitchens.
The move to craft the regulation is being seen by critics as part of the Chinese government's efforts to legalise limits on the impact of Christianity in China, which plays heavily into the issue of Chinese democratisation.
Fan Yafeng, director of the Zhongfu Shengshan Research Institute, is not surprised because of the demolition of Christian structures and the detention of Christians in the past.
He said the new draft regulation was reflected the government's bid to promote "Christianity with Chinese characteristics" in the country to minimise foreign influences within the church which support democratisation.
"Through limiting Christianity's impact in social, public and political realms in China, the government wants to destroy the relationship between Christianity and Chinese democratisation," Mr Fan said.
The issue of cross removals has affected Chinese churches in the last year and according to records released by Christian human rights group China Aid, Christian persecution reached record numbers last year.
