Made-in-China Bibles for the 2008 Olympics

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

Speaking at the celebration of the printing of the 50 millionth bible by the Amity Printing Company (APC), Mr. Ye Xiaowen, Director of State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) announced that Bibles printed at APC will be made available at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He underscored what Rev. Cao Shengjie, President of China Christian Council (CCC), said in her speech earlier, that the Olympics is a great opportunity for sharing between Chinese Christians and Christians around the world. The TSPM/CCC is preparing to provide free Bibles and church services during the games to participants.

In his speech at the start of the December 8th celebration, Bishop K. H. Ting, recalled that it had been his dream many years ago, when Amity Foundation was established, to have a Bible printing company “of our own”. “It would meet the spiritual needs of the Chinese Christians on one hand and help Amity’s social work on the other,” said Bishop Ting. In 1988, a 10-year joint venture agreement was signed between the Amity Printing Press (now the Amity Development Company) and UBS (United Bible Societies) Publishing Company to establish the Nanjing Amity Printing Company (APC). In his speech Rev. Miller Milloy, General Secretary of UBS, paid tribute to Bishop Ting and the late Dr. Wenzao Han for their vision on insisting that the Chinese should depend on themselves in Bible publishing and printing. The printing plant that was originally designed to produce 600,000 bibles a year is now capable of producing 6 million bibles a year. In 2008, it will have the capacity to double this to 12 million bibles a year.

In fact, the Amity Printing Company is now one of the biggest bible printing presses in the world and one of the thin paper printing experts in China. To date, the company has produced 41 million bibles for distribution in China and 9 million bibles for overseas distribution. The 9 million bibles exported have been printed in 75 different languages, including English, German, Spanish, French together with many African languages. With the increased capacity of the printing press, China could very well become the Bible producer for the whole world.

Reflecting on the great leap made by the printing company over the last 20 years, Mr. David Thorne, Asia Pacific Secretary for UBS, said that when he took part in the signing of the first agreement between UBS and Amity, the present outcome was totally unimaginable. “At that time, we thought 10 million bibles in 10 years would have been worth it.” He noted the “incredible historical timing” of the joint venture which started just before Deng Xiaoping made his famous speech in Guangdong in 1986. The shift from a grant to full cooperation has given stability to the project. At the start, the company had to hire and train technicians from the rural areas who at best knew only about tractors. Today, the company can boast of at least 350 employees with some of the best trained technicians in the business. When the printing press moves to its new production facility in 2008, it will be equipped with a British built Timson T32 high-speed web-press, custom-built to the requirements of the Nanjing based printing company.

Sending his congratulatory message to the celebration, the most Revd. Dr. John Chew, Archbishop of the South East Asia Province of the Anglican Church, said that the completion of 50 million copies of the Bible “is truly a public and most commendable witness and testimony of the genuine and fruitful partnership of many Christians and churches both in and outside of China.” Tributes were also paid to the TSPM/CCC, SARA, and the Jiangsu provincial and Nanjing municipal governments for their support and encouragement. The management, staff and workers of the printing company were praised and congratulated for their outstanding performance.

Mr. Qiu Zhonghui, General Secretary of the Amity Foundation and Chair of the Board of the Amity Printing Company, enthused that the work of the printing company serves Chinese Christians, overseas Christians and the social service work of the Amity Foundation. Bishop Ting, quoting Corinthians I 13:8 “Love never ends,” proclaimed that the bible printing ministry provides a way to spread the gospel and the love of Jesus. It opens a door for the exchange between Christians at home and abroad.

Amity and UBS extended their joint venture for another 10 years till 2018 at a signing ceremony that preceded the celebration. Almost 200 people, including national and provincial officials, Chinese church leaders, representatives of the UBS and churches in Hong Kong and overseas attended the celebration held at Shui Xiu Garden Hotel in Jiangning, in the suburbs of Nanjing. It concluded with a visit to the new premises of the printing company and a symbolic pressing of the start button of the new state of the art printing equipment.