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Crackdown on Bible distribution in China signals continued religious persecution: reports

蘋果日報 2020/12/13 06:18


Two recent court cases on the production and selling of Bible reading machines have raised fresh concerns over religious freedom in China.
Lai Jinqiang, who set up a company to produce Bible reading machines in 2007, was arrested last year and prosecuted recently for being involved in illegal business operations, according to reports by IPK Media and Voice of America.
In a similar case, Fu Xuanjuan, the legal representative of a company which also sold Bible reading machines, and three other defendants were charged for being involved in illegal business operations.
Shenzhen Bao’an People’s Court heard Lai’s case on Dec. 7 and Fu’s case on Dec. 9. It is understood that the hearings might have been held behind closed doors, as the court had not yet disclosed any information on either case on its official website.
The prosecutor has proposed sentencing of five years’ imprisonment for Fu and one and a half to three years for the other defendants.
A Bible reading machine allows users to listen to pre-recorded Bible content and, if connected to the internet, to access audio and video content of worship and preaching of famous pastors. It is popular among elderly Christians with poor eyesight.
Ma Jing, a member of a family church in Guangdong province who is familiar with the two court cases, was quoted as saying that Beijing did not allow the sales of Bible-related products because it was worried that the increasing number of Christians might pose a threat to the ruling Communist Party.
Netizens have suggested the stringent control over the distribution of the Bible was because the central government felt threatened by the number of Christians in China, which might have exceeded the number of members in the Communist Party.
The number of Christians in China, including Catholics and Protestants, reached 38 million in 2018 according to the white paper “Policies and Practices to the Protection of Freedom of Religion” issued by the State Council Information Office. However, this figure does not include members of non-government-controlled churches whose combined size was estimated to be double of the state-controlled churches.
This could mean that the number of Christians in China might have exceeded Communist party members, which stands at around 80 million.
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