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CHINA
Priest sentenced for printing BiblesAnother blow to underground Church
A Chinese Catholic priest was sentenced to six years in prison in May after he was convicted of printing Bibles and other religious materials in an eastern province of the country.
Father Jian Shurang of Zhejiang province, a priest in the underground Catholic Church, was convicted of illegally operating a business and illegally publishing materials. The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy in China said Father Jiang is one of six priests who has been detained in the province in recent months. The Center said that many Catholics in Zhejiang are involved with the underground Church; it reported that at least seven churches have been closed since February for refusing to confirm their allegiance to the state-run Patriotic Catholic Association.