'PASSION' UPDATE
Pirated Copies of
Gibson Movie Stir Chinese
By WorldNetDaily.com
CBN.com –
Christians in China believe their communist government won't
show The Passion of the Christ, but pirated copies of the film
on Jesus' suffering and death are playing to small gatherings throughout
the country.
The private viewings with poorly made DVD copies and Chinese subtitles
are accompanied by prayer gatherings and questions by young agnostics
who want to know more about Christian faith, reports UCAN, the Union
of Catholic Asian News in Hong Kong.
"The Passion has "struck a heavy blow against atheism,"
says one Chinese youth.
A Catholic priest in the underground church said he was so moved by the
film he showed it to parishioners last year on Good Friday, the day commemorating
Jesus' crucifixion, UCAN reported.
The priest told UCAN he bought the DVD copy on the street for the
equivalent of about $1.
"The quality is not good and the Chinese translation is lousy.
But for those of us who know the Bible, we know what's going on,"
he said.
Under pressure internationally, the Chinese government has cracked
down on pirated videos, but a priest in the government-approved Catholic
Church has encouraged his parishioners to watch the film by Mel Gibson,
which has generated more than $300 million in box office receipts.
A Chinese webmaster who asked to remain anonymous, said the film
has created a buzz on Internet discussion forums in China, and quite
"a number of laypeople have said they felt their faith strengthened"
after watching it.
Some Protestant websites allow the film to be downloaded from a site
in China.
"My Protestant friends praised the film after watching it,"
the webmaster told UCAN.
The webmaster noted China's strict censorship and government-sponsored
atheism, which teaches Jesus was a mythical character, makes it likely
The Passion would be banned as a challenge to state authority.
"What's more," he said, "'The Passion is a
very powerful evangelization tool, so it is highly unlikely it will
be shown publicly in China," he said.
But the movie's huge success in China, reflected in the demand for
pirated DVDs, has "struck a heavy blow against atheism,"
he said.
Yunnan Catholic Online, in Kunming, more than 1,300 miles southwest
of Beijing, said a local layman reported he attended two private viewings
where many Catholics cried, and a few even screamed when they saw
Jesus being scourged, according to UCAN.
In Tangshan, about 100 miles southeast of Beijing, a Catholic university
student recommended the film to friends.
Afterward, "one of them asked me to tell him more stories of
the Bible, and another expressed his wish to join the Church,"
he said.
The Passion of the Christ will opened at the beginning of April
last year in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, but the Hong Kong media affirm
the film was unlikely to be shown in mainland China because of its religious
nature.
In Hong Kong, at least 50 special screenings were scheduled for Catholic
and Protestant groups.
More from The Passion of The
Christ special feature on CBN.com
More from WorldNetDaily
Used with permission, WorldNetDaily. Learn more about WorldNetDaily at their
Web site, www.worldnetdaily.com.
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