A Chinese church was fined this year the equivalent of $1,400 in U.S. for having a copy of the Bible in a different language, according to a religious watchdog.
The congregation, Fengyang Road Three-Self Great Church in the northeastern province of Liaoning, is a member of the officially recognized Three-Self network of Protestant churches that face severe restrictions.
In April, Chinese Communist Party officials found copies of South Korean Bibles in the church’s possession – an illegal action that sparked a fine of $10,000 RMB (about $1,400 USD), according to Bitter Winter, which monitors religious freedom in the country.
“The church was also prohibited from selling Bibles,” Bitter Winter reported.
The fine was part of the Communist Party’s effort to “eradicate pornography and illegal publications” – and the latest example of the party’s crackdown on Christianity.
“Many believers have reported that the Three-Self churches to which they belong have been subjected to sudden inspections by the government,” Bitter Winter reported. “All newspapers, hymnbooks, gospel leaflets, and especially Bibles that weren’t published and printed by the state were confiscated and even burned.”
The government even has forced churches to hang banners promoting the campaign against illegal books. In August, Fengzhuang Three-Self Church in the central…
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