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China Seizes US Missionaries' Bibles

Christian group refuses to leave airport without their books

By the Associated Press

Posted Aug 18, 2008 8:36 AM CDT

(AP) – Four American Christians whose Bibles were confiscated by authorities are refusing to leave a Chinese airport until the books are returned. The Vision Beyond Borders group had planned to distribute 315 Chinese-language Bibles during the Olympics, but religious proselytizing is banned in China, reports AP. Bibles in China are legally printed at just one plant , which is run by a government-backed Christian association.

"I heard there's freedom of religion in China, so why is there a problem for us to bring Bibles?" asked a spokesman for the US group. "It cost us a lot of money to bring them here." The four camped out last night at the airport in the southwestern city of Kunming, and Chinese authorities were demanding they leave, said the group's leader.

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The Bible is available at many bookstores in China, but 315 copies of the Bible brought in by an American Christian group have been confiscated. (Getty Images (by Event) Individuals)

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"I heard that there's freedom of religion in China, so why is there a problem for us to bring Bibles?" - Pat Klein, Vision Beyond Borders

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China Seizes US Missionaries' Bibles