08/18/2008 04:33


A group of American Christians who had more than 300 Bibles confiscated by Chinese officials when they arrived in China is refusing to leave the airport until they get the books back, their leader said Monday.

The group arrived in the southwestern city of Kunming on Sunday as China hosts the Summer Olympics in Beijing, its capital.
Pat Klein said he and three others from his Vision Beyond Borders group spent the night at the airport after customs officers took the Bibles from their checked luggage.
"I heard that there's freedom of religion in China, so why is there a problem for us to bring Bibles?" said Klein, whose Sheridan, Wyoming-based group distributes Bibles and Christian teaching materials around the world.
The Bibles were printed in Chinese, he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Last year, false media reports claimed Bibles would be banned from the Olympic Games. The state-run China Daily reported last month that 10,000 bilingual copies of the Bible would be distributed in the Olympic Village, which houses athletes and media.
In China, Bibles are legally printed at just one plant - the world's largest - run by a Communist government-backed Christian association, and are available in many bookstores. But the 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.
A woman on duty at Kunming airport's customs office confirmed over the telephone late Sunday that 315 Bibles were found in the passengers' checked baggage.
The officer, who would only give her last name, Xiao, denied confiscating the Bibles. She said authorities were just "taking care" of them and provided no further details. She later said she was not authorized to speak to the media and referred questions to the national customs headquarters in Beijing, which did not answer phones on Sunday.
On Monday morning, Klein said Chinese officials had shown the group what they said were regulations that banned bringing Bibles into China, but that the documents were in Chinese. "We are waiting for them to come back with the law in English," he said.
Chinese officials had asked the Christians to leave the room at the airport where they spent the night, but Klein told the officials they did not want to go without the Bibles.

11 miners dead, 96 trapped in Chinese mine blast

BEIJING – At least 11 miners died and nearly 100 remained trapped underground after a gas blast ripped through a coal mine in northern China, state media said Sunday.
The official Xinhua News Agency said 96 miners were trapped in a pre-dawn blast at a mine belonging to the Shanxi Jiaomei Group in Gujiao city near Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province.
It said 340 miners were rescued, but 11 of those died in a hospital. Another 24 were seriously injured, Xinhua said.
An official with the provincial government duty office confirmed the accident, but did not have any details. He would give only his surname Chen.
The Shanxi Jiaomei Group is China's largest producer of coking coal, and operates 28 mines.
Although China has worked to cut mine accidents by closing more than a 1,000 small, dangerous mines last year, the country's mining industry is still the world's deadliest. About 3,200 miners died in accidents last year, a 15 percent improvement over the previous year.
Many of the smaller mines have lax safety measures, and are plagued by fires, explosions, floods and other accidents.

YOU MIGHT BE ADOPTING FROM CHINA IF......

you know that I-600 & I-171 aren't highways....

you've been expecting a baby for over 3 years...

you understand that it's 2006 in some parts of the world....

you've "paid for" 3 citizenships, but never brought anyone into the U.S....

you know that waiting for China has nothing to do with Dillards or dishes...

your homestudy is followed by a number (i.e. #3 or #4)...

you never know how many days next month will have...

you know that babies come in batches...

you've been fingerprinted four times, but never committed a crime...

you automatically assume everyone who is expecting is having a girl...

you own new clothing in 3 little sizes for all 4 seasons (because you don't know when or how big)...

you look twice when you see a lady bug...

you're more interested in what will happen in March 2006 than in March 2009...

you know people who understand when you talk about 2 day months & 5 day months...

your due date hasn't changed by days, but by years...

you know who the Rumor Queen is ... AND ... you don't know who she is...

you know that forecast doesn't have anything to do with the weather...

you've waited so long, they re-checked your fingerprints to see if they changed...

trying to understand why they're printing you again, you study your own fingerprints and wonder if fingerprints grow wrinkles...

when you speak of "that time of month" you're talking about CCAA updates & referrals..

You might be adopting from China if you love someone you've never met with all your heart.