Radio Free Asia (RFA) recently reported that seven Christian house church members in Henan Province were accused of being “evil cult members” and were sentenced to up to seven years in prison. These Christian church members were arrested because they were using a version of the Bible that the government does not officially approve. The churches that use these particular Bibles are considered to be an “evil cult.” Lawyers defending the church members suggested that many countries, such as the United States, allow people to use different versions of the Bible. However the court ignored the lawyer’s arguments. Zhang Mingxuan, Chairman of the Mainland House Church Alliance, commented that this is another example of the consistent approach the Communist authorities use to crush freedom of religion. The China Aid Association of the United States described the sentence as “shocking.”
Source: Radio Free Asia, April 23, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/religion-04232013102804.html?encoding=simplified