China – Great Firewall Now Bans Online Bible Sales

The ‘Great Firewall of China’ has under President for life Mr Xi Jinping found a new target in the bible, as it was reported that an online search to try and buy a copy of what is still the world’s most sold book gathers ‘no results’ as of this week.

Although bible sales are still permitted at some Church bookstores in China, there is clearly a clamping down on anything even barely linked to religion in the atheist nation under Chinese President Jinping.

Mr Jin Mingri, who works as a pastor at the Protestant Zion Church in Beijing (which is not even registered with the government) admits the newly installed restrictions were tied to an "overall tightening in the overall environment. Maybe (authorities) think that the spread of the bible on informal channels is not conducive to state ideology. This certainly has an impact on believers' access to the bible."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Religious freedom is one of our most precious rights, one that should be enjoyed by all no matter where they are born. The Government of China banning online sales of the Bible is an assault on their citizens’ freedoms &amp; on Christianity. Read more, here: <a href="https://t.co/YW9GzZIISE">https://t.co/YW9GzZIISE</a></p>&mdash; Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) <a href="https://twitter.com/nikkihaley/status/982367761816014848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2018</a></blockquote>

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According to the unofficial underground church loyal to the Vatican, China holds some 60 million Catholic worshippers.

Just three years ago, the Vatican, under the new leadership of Pope Francis, relaunched long-stalled negotiations on the appointment of bishops with Beijing.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">China bans bible from online stores. <a href="https://t.co/oUjuknv2bH">https://t.co/oUjuknv2bH</a></p>&mdash; Catholic Herald (@CatholicHerald) <a href="https://twitter.com/CatholicHerald/status/982588950916321280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>

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However, with a new regulation banning religious activities in schools (in regions like Xinjiang) which stipulates that parents or guardians who "organise, lure, or force minors into religious activities" can be reported to the police, the Vatican knows that it is up against ever more difficult odds in ‘the middle kingdom’.

Source:

https://gizmodo.com/china-just-banned-online-sales-of-the-bible-1825027863