HONG KONG, Jan 7, 02 (CWNews.com) - A Chinese man could face the death penalty after he was indicted for smuggling thousands of Bibles into the country, according to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy.
Li Guangqiang, 38, a Hong Kong businessman, was indicted in the southeastern city of Fuqing for taking 33,080 Bible to the underground Christian group, the Shouters Sect, in April and May 2001. Two members of the Christian group, Yu Zhudi and Lin Xifu, who made the request for the Bibles, were also indicted, the rights group said. According to the charges, Li "used a cult to undermine the enforcement of the law."
The Shouters Sect was banned in 1995 as an "aberrant religious organization," according to the human rights group Amnesty International. The sect's charismatic style of worship includes shouting out prayers.
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs
7. januar 2002