In Kunming, American missionaries get stripped of their Bibles.

“BEIJING — Chinese customs officials confiscated more than 300 Bibles on Sunday from four American Christians who arrived in a southwestern city with plans to distribute them, the group’s leader said.

The Bibles were taken from the group’s checked luggage after they landed at the airport in the city of Kunming, said Pat Klein, head of Vision Beyond Borders. The group, based in Sheridan, Wyoming, distributes Bibles and Christian teaching materials around the world to “strengthen the persecuted church,” according to its Web site.

The group arrived in China on Sunday and had intended to distribute the Bibles to people in the city, Klein told the AP in a telephone interview while still at the airport.

‘I heard that there’s freedom of religion in China, so why is there a problem for us to bring Bibles?’ Klein said. “We had over 300 copies and customs took all of them from us.” …

The officer, who would only give her last name, Xiao, denied confiscating the Bibles. She said authorities were just ‘taking care’ of them and provided no further details.”