Printing trouble sparks shortage of Catholic Bibles in Hong Kong

Catholics in Hong Kong are bracing for a shortage of Chinese-language Bibles amid the unwillingness of publishing houses in mainland China to print the sacred Christian scripture, says a religious order specialising in biblical and archaeological studies.

Aug 05, 2022

HONG KONG: Catholics in Hong Kong are bracing for a shortage of Chinese-language Bibles amid the unwillingness of publishing houses in mainland China to print the sacred Christian scripture, says a religious order specialising in biblical and archaeological studies.

The Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (SBF) of Hong Kong, run by the Franciscans, announced that the society is running out of Chinese Bibles as it is unable to print Bibles in mainland Chinese printing presses.

Franciscan Friar Raymond Mary Yeung, a member of the SBF, expressed concerns over looming Bible shortages in a post on Facebook, on July 25.

“Studium Biblicum Franciscanum has been unable to find a suitable printing house for the Catholic Chinese Bibles and therefore has not been able to print the new Catholic Chinese Bibles,” Friar Yeung reportedly said, according to ChinaAid.

The friar also pointed out, “at present, all of the Society’s stock of Catholic Chinese Bibles have been sold to bookstores, and if the printing problem is not resolved in the near future, there will be a shortage.”

Earlier, friar Yeung spoke to the Christian Times in Hong Kong and revealed that in the past, the Society’s Bible was printed by a printing house in mainland China, but it stopped printing by saying they “must apply to the government in order to print.”

The friar said they have been told since the volume of the Bibles was small, the printing house was unable to make sufficient business profits. Due to these two factors, other printing houses in mainland China have expressed no interest to print Chinese Bibles, but mostly to avoid ‘trouble’ from the authorities.

He said that it was a bit difficult to find a new printing house, because printing Bibles require a certain level of technical skills, such as staple binding technology, “which is not available in Hong Kong.”

Friar Yeung also said that their society is out of stock as all the Bibles have been sent to bookstores and schools in parishes.

The reluctance of the company to continue printing Chinese Bibles for the Catholic Church is believed to have stemmed from China’s renewed crackdown on religious activities including faith-based publishing, both online and offline.

In 2018, shortly after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) adopted the New Regulations on Religious Affairs, the Chinese government banned online bookstores from selling bibles. -- ucanews