Report: The Holy Bible Removed from Amazon, Other Online Stores in China

The Holy Bible has been removed from sale on Amazon and other online stores in China, according to a report.

“On JD.com, searches for ‘the Bible’ in Chinese yielded no results, while on Taobao, Amazon.cn and Dang Dang, they led to other Christian publications, such as storybooks and Bible study aids,” reported the South China Morning Post. “While the Bible has long been categorised in China as a publication ‘for internal distribution’ – meaning that, officially at least, it can be sold only by government-sanctioned bodies that oversee Christian churches – the authorities have tended to look the other way.”

“In China, all religious activities come under the close scrutiny of the officially atheist Communist Party. Beijing has often repeated its position that it will not allow ‘foreign forces’ to dominate the country’s religious activities,” they explained, adding, “A Christian bookstore on WeChat, China’s most popular messaging platform, based in southern Guangdong province said it was inundated with ‘notice of punishment’ warnings from the social media app on Tuesday, and that most of its content – including the Bible, and Christian books and gifts – had been deleted overnight.”

In a comment, a “source at a Chinese publishing house,” also claimed, “Some shops on Taobao [selling Christian books] have been closed permanently.”