A Bible shortage in Hong Kong is now a major concern for one U.S.-based persecution watchdog, that has cited the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) tight regulations on religious content as the primary cause for supply disruption.
According to the organization, International Christian Concern (ICC), printing houses fear that printing Bibles without government approval could lead to trouble with authorities. Added to this, the Franciscans who run the biblical research institute Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (SBF) in Hong Kong has reported that printing companies in China are disinterested in printing its Catholic Bible due to the small quantity of copies sold.
“Available copies of SBF’s Bible have already been sold to bookstores, thereby adding pressure to quickly find a publishing company,” the organization said.
Printing houses lack the staple binding technology used to make Bibles in mainland China, making it more difficult to find a printing company.
“This incident comes during the CCP‘s massive crackdown on religions including Christianity. Recently, the government declared that Christians must first register and gain approval by the state to post religious content online. The goal of these kinds of regulations is to control and align religion with the party’s political ideology and goals,” the ICC said.
The Christian Prosecution watch-dog noted that other Christian groups are unaffected by the troubles between SBF and its printing house. The organization urged persons to pray that the SBF find a printing company willing to publish and distribute Bibles in Hong Kong soon.