Under a Communist Regime, Priests and Monks in China Hold Religious Events Ahead of the CCP’s Centenary

Xuecheng (c), the abbot of Beijing's Longquan Monastery, prays during a memorial event in China's Shanxi Province on Dec. 3, 2017. He was the former head of China's government-run Buddhist association and a Communist Party member. He was under criminal investigation for alleged sexual assault in 2018. STR/AFP/Getty Images

This year marks the centenary of China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the religious groups in the country held various activities to observe the upcoming occasion.

During the Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Festival or China’s Memorial Day) on April 4, Buddhist and Taoist temples in many provinces sent their monks to visit the tombstones and gravesites of communist martyrs and to pledge allegiance to the Party. The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association held a lecture on the CCP’s history.