The Institute for Christian Studies at People’s University in Beijing is planning a Bible translation in modern Chinese to be sold in ordinary bookstores throughout China. According to Professor Yang Huilin, his institute is cooperating closely in this project with Nanjing Union Theological Seminary in Jiangsu Province. To date, the sale of Bibles in China has been restricted to church buildings and is not easily available to the vast majority of Chinese people.

Although welcoming any effort to increase production of Bibles in China, some religious leaders have expressed concerns about the reliability of the new state-sponsored translation and say they will await its release before giving their unreserved approval to the project.

Since 1987, the Amity Printing Company in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province has been printing Bibles and other related materials. This company also prints legal versions of the Seventh-day Adventist books Desire of Ages and Christ Object Lessons. They have published some 28 million copies of Scripture, which are distributed through 70 local distribution centers.

Despite this, religious leaders say the Bible is not easy to obtain for the average Chinese. “What are 28 million Bibles among 1.3 billion people?” says one leader who does not wish to be named. “There are millions upon millions of people who do not have the least idea where to get a Bible.” The leader also cites the high cost of Bibles as another barrier: “In poorer rural areas of China, even the cheapest RMB 6.5 yuan Bible [US$ 0.80] is simply not affordable.”