On July 1, 2012, in memory of the 91st anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, the U.S. based Hontoot Company and over one hundred Chinese media co-hosted the “Red Cultural Education” activities in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, the birth place of Ma Zedong. The programs included an oath swearing ceremony for new party members; a tour of Mao’s birth place; watching a patriotic dance and music show; a visit to the Memorial Hall of Liu Shaoqi, the formal President of China (from 1959 to 1968); wearing a red army uniform, singing red army songs, eating red army meals; and forums on how the red culture can impact socialistic core values.

According to Mr. Shen, President of U.S. based Hontoot Company, the Hontoot Company is a business entity devoted to the promotion of Chinese Red Tourism; it also specializes in the electronics field. The company’s mission is to promote China through red culture and red resources. The company’s founder believes that “in order for the world to know China, it should start with red culture and revisit and experience the journey of the Long March taken by the Red Army.” Mr. Shen told the media, "Through these red cultural programs, the volunteers can learn the red cultural spirit and receive a patriotic education."

Source: Guangming Daily, July 2, 2012
http://culture.gmw.cn/2012-07/02/content_4462321.htm

Despite the fact that the Vatican objected to China’s appointment of two Catholic bishops, the Chinese Catholic Church held two Catholic bishop appointment ceremonies: on July 6, 2012, for Bishop Qiu Fusheng in Heilongjiang Province and on July 7, 2012, for Bishop Ma Daqing in Shanghai.

The Vatican stated that the appointments were illegal because the Pope did not approve of either of the two bishops. The spokesperson from the Chinese State Administration of Religious Affairs asserted that the Chinese Catholic Association should be treated equally with other churches and that all of their activities are legitimate and effective. Therefore the church organization (the Vatican) should respect them.

The Vatican approved a few bishop appointments in the past; more recently the Vatican has expressed dissatisfaction with the bishops that China has appointed. In July 2011, the Vatican excommunicated Chinese bishop Joseph Huang Bingzhang, who Beijing had appointed without Vatican approval.

According to China’s official statistics, there are 5.7 million Catholic Church believers in China. However, an independent source suggested that the number exceeds 12 million.

Source: BBC Chinese Edition, July 4, 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2012/07/120702_china_vatican.shtml

In 2012, the Communist Party Committee in Shenzhen plans to provide training for over 800 people from religious groups, exceeding the total for the past few years. The first class held its opening ceremony at Shenzhen City’s Institute of Socialism. Zhang Siping, a Shenzhen Party official, spoke at the ceremony. “Religions have the tradition and advantage of performing charity work for the public.” Zhang expressed that religions in Shenzhen should actively participate in social development and promote innovations in social management. Zhang further stated that religions should learn from the practice of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan to explore and expand social charities effectively.

Source: People’s Daily, July 4, 2012
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2012/0704/c70731-18444742.html