China religion Christianity
A BELIEF that Christians in China were thirsty for the word of God drove Alan to Hongkong.
A former gangster in the Philippines, Alan said he quit the underworld and threw himself into the religion in 1985.
He decided to come to Hongkong last year after church officials in the Philippines told him that he could take God's message to China through the territory.
He found many Filipinos in Hongkong were also seeking to smuggle Bibles through Chinese customs.
''We all do it out of love, we are not paid for it,'' he said.
''All we want is to bring people in the country the message of God.'' Alan visits China two or three times a week, taking 30 to 60 Bibles each time.
Although aware of the risk of repatriation to the Philippines if caught by the Chinese Government, he said customs officers often let him go.
More than 90 per cent of the Philippines' population is Christian. Many would offer to take Bibles to friends when they travel, he said.
Although there is little verbal exchange with the Chinese Christians, Alan has a firm belief that if he could bring in more Bibles ''God will open their eyes and ears''.
