Hong Kong- More than 2,300 Hong Kong residents have lodged complaints about indecent and sexually explicit material in the Bible in a bizarre campaign to restrict sales of the Christian holy book. Hong Kong's publications watchdog has received an avalanche of complaints about tales of incest, rape, cannibalism and violence in the Bible since the website truthbible.net began urging people to file complaints.
However, the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority said it will not act on the complaints as it considers the Bible to be "a religious text, which is part of civilization."
Now the website says it may raise the issue with Hong Kong's public ombudsman on the grounds that the "abnormal sex and violence" described in the Bible is at odds with the moral standards of people in the former British colony.
If the campaign succeeds, the Bible could technically have its sales restricted in Hong Kong in the same way that pornographic magazines must be sold in sealed packages and to only those over age 18. The motive for the campaign is unclear.
The number of complaints lodged against the Bible with the licensing authority is the highest received since a magazine last year ran pictures of a semi-naked female pop star changing backstage at a concert in Malaysia.
Hong Kong, which has a population of 6.9 million people, is home to around 250,000 Catholics, including Beijing-appointed chief executive Donald Tsang, and around 60,000 Anglican Christians.
