The “Good News” arrives in Hong Kong

(Los Angeles) — "We have awesome good news to report!" announced TBN founder and President Paul Crouch during a recent "Behind the Scenes" broadcast.

"We have signed the contacts to send TBN into the largest cable TV system in Hong Kong! Close to one million households can now receive TBN 24/7 on channel 21."

TBN, the world’s largest religious network, has been negotiating with Chinese officials and the nation’s leading ministers of government since 2000. That is when Crouch first traveled to China as TBN’s “Ambassador of Good News," where he introduced the TBN brand and its staple of religious programming and family fare to the nation’s premier decision-makers.

"With its debut in Hong Kong, TBN has established an exceptional avenue for broadcasting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to multiplied millions," reports Susan Zahn, founder of WDC Media, a faith-based media relations firm.

Hong Kong, known as the “Mouth of the Dragon," lies on the southeastern coast of China. The island occupies approximately 420 square miles with a population of seven million. TBN is now airing on Channel 21, the largest cable television system in Hong Kong.

The network has begun the arduous task of translating and sub-titling programs into Mandarin, the country’s official language. While English and Cantonese are the official languages, Mandarin has been the predominant language since Hong Kong's return to Mainland China.

Says Crouch: "We can thank the former revolutionary leader Mao Tse-tung for requiring all of China to understand the Mandarin language. Without such a requirement, TBN would be at a loss as how to communicate the programs to the masses in Hong Kong."

Religion plays an important role in the lives of many Hong Kong residents. Most of the population is either Buddhist or Taoist, but there are also approximately a half-million Christians — about ten percent of the total population. These are equally divided between Catholics and Protestants.

There are also an estimated 70,000 Muslims, between 2,000 and 3,000 Jews, as well as some Hindus and Sikhs. In comparison, only one percent of Mainland Chinese are Christians.

Rod Henke, Vice President, International Broadcast Relations at TBN, announced: "This is a dawn of a new day in global Christian communications. TBN is honored to have been selected as China's Christian broadcast network of choice. TBN anticipates a long and fruitful relationship with the People’s Republic of China and its endearing citizens."

Since 2003, when Crouch returned to China for a second official visit, two delegations of Chinese leaders and dignitaries have visited TBN’s international headquarters in Southern California.

For more information about TBN visit www.tbn.org.