At the invitation of the Honourable Minister of the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Ye Xiaowen, the Primates of the Global South of the Anglican Communion visited the cities of Beijing, Xi’an, Nanjing and Shanghai from 21-30 October 2007. Nine Primates of the Global South of the Anglican Communion representing Africa, Asia and the Middle East participated in the historic occasion. Kua Wee Seng, Coordinator of United Bible Societies China Partnership, was privileged to be invited by Archbishop John Chew, the Primate of the Province of South East Asia, to accompany the delegation for this historic visit to China.
The delegation discussed national religious policies and state-church relations. The Primates visited Amity Press and was greatly impressed by the achievement of the Press:
“We are greatly impressed by the love of the Chinese Church for the Word of God, the respect for its authority on life and doctrine, and the miraculous achievement of the Amity Press in Nanjing, China, in the printing of more than 50 million bibles between 1987 and 2007, of which 16 percent are exported to other countries. The on-going efforts by the Church in China to distribute these bibles throughout this vast country and the many testimonies of the lives transformed by God’s Word are awe-inspiring.” (Article 7 of “A Statement on the Global South Primates’ Visit to China.”)
Archbishop Peter Akinola, the Primate of All Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the delegation at the lunch hosted by Amity Press, said, “It’s truly truly amazing to see Amity Press printing millions of Bibles for China, and for the rest of the world. Making Bible available will bring great blessings to the people in China and all over the world. After seeing Amity Press, we will double our effort to support the Bible Societies.”
Canon Wong Tak Meng, from the Diocese of Singapore accompanied the Primates. He made these observations and comments:
“I was privileged to be a part of this historic visit to China, giving administrative support to the delegation. My heart was warmed to see the bibles printed by the Amity Press rolling off the press at the rate of one bible per second, the vast majority going to the Chinese people through 70 distribution points and countless churches across the country. The Chinese Union Version (CUV) used by the vast majority of Chinese Christian world-wide is more contemporary than the KJV used by many western churches by at least 300 years. These Bibles are complete even though some verse numbering, a non-inspired featured of all bibles, may be slightly different from other versions. The rumours that these bibles do not contain the book of Revelation or references to the second coming of Christ is not true. Apart for the ‘plain vanilla’ version, I have seen Children’s Bibles, Study Bibles, parallel bibles (original languages, plus Chinese CUV and English NRSV) openly on sale in churches. One of the latest is a Gospel of Luke complete with the Christian testimony of a star player of China national women’s football team, all printed above board by Amity Press with the approval of the China Christian Council, pitching obviously at the youth. The growth in the Church in China, whether registered or unregistered, is something we should thank God for. It is very common in registered churches to see 10% conversion growth rate yearly. I saw for myself the queue of people inquiring and signing up at the Baptism Class counter in the church yard or book stand. Contrary to popular belief, these are not old folks in their eighties, as there are many young people and professionals in the church, many of them serving as lay volunteers in the ministry. And they are hungry for the Word. One registered church I attended has the whole congregation take 15 minutes to read from a few chapters of the bible out loud together, even before the choir procession signals the start of the service. I’m sure many of us would welcome such fervency and growth in our own churches. China is of course a very large nation, with a huge diversity of cultures and local conditions in its many provinces and counties. One can expect to observe different things in different parts of the country, and would need to weigh one’s observations wisely in order to make a fair assessment about the whole. Let us offer the Church in China, registered or otherwise, our continual prayers and encouragement toward rehabilitation, reconciliation and growth, for the spread of the Gospel and the glory of God. “
For more info:
· United Bible Societies China Partnership: http://www.ubscp.org, http://www.biblesociety.org/bs-ami.htm
· Amity Printing Company’s Bible & NT Production Chart: http://www.amityprinting.com/englishweb/blbles.htm
· Frequently Asked Questions about Protestant Churches in China: http://www.amitynewsservice.org/page.php?page=1150
More photos can be viewed here