By David McKenzie and Steven Jiang, CNN
updated 5:29 AM EDT, Tue September 16, 2014
Wenzhou, China (CNN) — At a gray church on the outskirts of Wenzhou in eastern China, Christians from across the county keep a nervous watch.
Some stand behind the iron gate; others sit just inside the church door. For more than two months they’ve waited, preparing themselves to protect the cross on top of their church.
“If I have to, I am going to hold it in my arms and protect it,” one elderly man says. “They have no right to tear it down, that is why we have to defend our church.”
Like many here, it’s too risky for him to give his name.
Wenzhou is known as the “Jerusalem of China” and throughout this year the local Communist Party authorities have demolished scores of churches and forcibly removed more than 300 church crosses.
Categories: Asia, China, CHRISTIANITY, Hong Kong