http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...17/international/i071729D87.DTL&type=politics
(08-18) 09:33 PDT BEIJING, China (AP) --
A group of American Christians who had more than 300 Bibles confiscated by Chinese customs officials left the airport Monday after a 26-hour standoff, saying they realized officials would not change their stance.
Members of Vision Beyond Borders, who arrived in the southwestern city of Kunming on Sunday while the Olympic Games were being staged in Beijing, had previously said they would not leave the airport until the communist authorities returned the 315 Bibles, taken from their checked luggage.
But the group said Monday that the U.S. Embassy told them the Chinese would abide by a law that forbids bringing religious products into the communist nation for more than personal use.
China's officially atheistic government prohibits proselytizing and is worried that if the spread of religion goes unchecked, believers might ultimately challenge the Communist Party's authority.
"We're very disappointed, for a country saying they're opening up and things are getting better, it sure doesn't seem like it," a representative of the group, Pat Klein, told the AP by telephone. The Sheridan, Wyoming-based group distributes Bibles and Christian teaching materials around the world.
More at link...
(08-18) 09:33 PDT BEIJING, China (AP) --
A group of American Christians who had more than 300 Bibles confiscated by Chinese customs officials left the airport Monday after a 26-hour standoff, saying they realized officials would not change their stance.
Members of Vision Beyond Borders, who arrived in the southwestern city of Kunming on Sunday while the Olympic Games were being staged in Beijing, had previously said they would not leave the airport until the communist authorities returned the 315 Bibles, taken from their checked luggage.
But the group said Monday that the U.S. Embassy told them the Chinese would abide by a law that forbids bringing religious products into the communist nation for more than personal use.
China's officially atheistic government prohibits proselytizing and is worried that if the spread of religion goes unchecked, believers might ultimately challenge the Communist Party's authority.
"We're very disappointed, for a country saying they're opening up and things are getting better, it sure doesn't seem like it," a representative of the group, Pat Klein, told the AP by telephone. The Sheridan, Wyoming-based group distributes Bibles and Christian teaching materials around the world.
More at link...