TNN

Beijing, Dec 10: The atheist government of China has come up with a novel way to take on the propaganda of human rights groups, who oppose Beijing as a venue for the Olympic Games due to the country's poor record on religious freedom. The government will encourage select Christian groups to distribute copies of the Bible to athletes and visitors during the Games.

Chinese authorities have clarified in the past that its differences with the pope did not come in the way of encouraging local Christian groups to practice their religion.

Members of local Christian groups will also be encouraged to play the role of volunteers to assist people of the same religion visiting from different parts of the world.

The move comes in the wake of allegations by some foreign religious and human rights groups that organizers of the Olympic Games would not allowing copies of the Bible and other religious items into the venue.

The organizers hit back saying that the allegations were wrong. It had merely stipulated an entry procedure, which said that "each traveller is recommended to take no more than one Bible into China."

Ye Xiaowen, head of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, said the government respected and protected religious freedom of all people. It also supports the printing and distribution of the Bible in China.

A local Christian group, the Amity Foundation, printed 50 million copies of the Bible and nine million copies of the New Testament last September, he said. Of these, 43 million copies would be distributed within China while the rest would be exported to 60 different countries.