Chinese officials, who have expelled dozens of Christian missionaries in an apparent crackdown in advance of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, are denouncing a report that they will ban Bibles in the athletes' housing complexes during the event.Reuters quotes Liu Jianchao, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, telling reporters in Beijing that the story in the Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport wasn't correct."The facts show that this news is a total rumor," Jianchao said."The Chinese government has not come up with any such rule."The official website for the 2008 Games does, however, advise that visitors should not bring more than a single Bible. On a page of information about entry into China, it advises visitors must pass certain checkpoints for visa, passport and health declaration forms.Luggage also will be inspected for food, biological products, blood or animals that may "spread infectious diseases," the webside said."Note: Each travel[er] is recommended to take no more than one Bible into China," the advisory adds.The report from the La Gazzetta dello Sport was picked up by the Catholic New Agency and reported in the U.S. But Jianchao said China's religious affairs authorities, who control religious activities in the nation, "have not – and could not – issue a rule banning the Bible in the Olympic village.""We are suspicious of the motivations for why these people would spread such rumors," he said. "They should be responsible and not do things that are not beneficial for them and harm mutual understanding between China and the world."A statement forwarded from the U.S. Olympic Committee said it had gotten confirmation Bibles would be allowed. Officials said the report apparently stemmed from a "miscommunication" between a journalist in Italy and the organizing committee.Just a day earlier, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called the Chinese ambassador in Washington on the carpet for the report of the ban....To read more go to:
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