Church to continue shipping Bibles

The Californian church at the centre of the case involving alleged SAR Bible smuggler Lai Kwong-keung has vowed to continue shipping religious texts to the mainland, saying his detention was only a 'blip' amid fresh signs of openness.

The Anaheim-based Living Stream Ministry has yet to acknowledge any formal link to Lai or his contacts - who could face execution if convicted - saying it was only aware of media reports and could not confirm how he obtained the Bible shipments.

Lai, 38, a Hong Kong resident who works in the import-export sector, is facing trial in Fujian province after allegedly trying to deliver 16,280 copies of the New Testament to the Shouters Christian group in Fuqing, Fujian. The group was banned on the mainland in 1996.

Lai is not a member of the Shouters, a name the Living Stream Ministry says it does not endorse, though is thought to sympathise with their position. He has been charged with propagating a 'heretical cult', according to the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy. The trial is likely to start this week.

'We sympathise with Lai Kwong-keung and all Christians subject to persecution,' said a spokesman for the Protestant evangelical group. 'Our understanding is that Lai was trying to share his Christian beliefs with others. We sincerely hope he is not put to death for distributing Bibles.'

Living Stream officials said the church was not directly supporting Lai during his detention, but was confident he was receiving help from fellow 'believers' on the mainland.

A statement from the Anaheim headquarters acknowledged reports that Lai had attended Hong Kong church group meetings a few months before his arrest, but not other reports suggesting he was advised to make the shipment by a leader in California.