wfn.org | As July 1 Approaches, Hong Kong Christians Hope for the Best

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

21-May-1997 
97209 
 
           As July 1 Approaches, Hong Kong Christians 
                        Hope for the Best 
 
                          by Eva Stimson 
 
HONG KONG--On July 1 Hong Kong returns to China after 156 years as a 
British colony.  Outside observers of the momentous change worry about 
crackdowns on religion by a repressive Chinese government.  But Christian 
leaders in this bustling financial center are surprisingly upbeat. 
 
    "The greatest gift that God has given me is to be able to live in Hong 
Kong in this challenging era," says the Rev. Man-king Tso," general 
secretary of the Hong Kong Christian Council, an ecumenical body with 19 
member denominations.  A small, energetic man in a business suit and black 
athletic shoes, Tso met with members of a Presbyterian mission study tour 
visiting the Council's offices May 7. 
 
    "Many people ask whether there is a future for Hong Kong after the 
handover," Tso commented. He believes there is.  After living and working 
in the United States and visiting more than 100 cities all over the world, 
Tso has chosen to remain in Hong Kong and help the church play a leadership 
role in the city's future. 
 
    "One of the roles of the church is to bring back the national identity 
of the people of Hong Kong," Tso said.  "Hong Kong people have always been 
stateless people, without a national identity." 
 
    Residents could be issued British passports, but these served as travel 
documents only, not as guarantees of citizenship, Tso explained.  Beginning 
July 1, Hong Kong residents of Chinese descent (98 percent of the city's 
6.3 million population) are eligible to be citizens of China. 
 
    Under British rule Hong Kong's governor was appointed by Great Britain. 
Under negotiated agreements making Hong Kong a "Special Administrative 
Region" of the People's Republic of China, Tso said, a chief executive of 
Hong Kong is to be elected freely -- for the first time -- within 10 years. 
 
    Hong Kong and its churches are positioned to play an influential role 
in mainland China, Tso believes.  "With our human resources and 
advancements in telecommunication, we are ready to speed up the 
modernization of China," he declared. 
 
    The Hong Kong church, with its strong ecumenical and international 
ties, "will be a good partner with the church in China," he added.  Church 
bodies in Hong Kong are already sending money to rebuild churches on the 
mainland and participating in theological exchanges with Chinese 
seminaries. 
 
    Tso's optimism reflects an increasingly hopeful outlook among Hong Kong 
residents as they come to terms with the inevitable change of government. 
The flight of middle-class immigrants from the city has slowed somewhat 
since 1992. 
 
    "A decade ago, many of us were losing confidence because so many were 
leaving," said Simon Sit, chairperson of the Hong Kong Christian Council. 
"Churches have been trying to persuade our members to stay.  Now many who 
left are coming back." 
 
    "Churches in Hong Kong are flourishing," said the Rev. William C. Teng, 
pastor of Union Church in Hong Kong, an ecumenical congregation.  Under his 
leadership Teng's church has grown from 150 to 400 members. 
 
    A member of Central Florida Presbytery in the Presbyterian Church 
(U.S.A.), Teng makes frequent visits to the United States, where he gets 
frustrated by the "gloom and doom" scenarios for the future of Hong Kong 
often presented in the U.S. media.  He said he was just back from a 
vacation in Orlando, where "I found myself constantly defending Hong Kong." 
 
    Even conservative evangelical churches in Hong Kong have begun to adopt 
a more positive attitude about Chinese rule, said the Rev. Philip L. 
Wickeri, a PC(USA) mission worker and coordinator of the Amity Foundation, 
the social outreach arm of the church in China.  "They're accepting the 
July 1 change as they change their views of China," he explained.  "They 
want to establish closer relationships with churches in China.  They see 
more economic development, more freedom in China, so they're more 
optimistic." 
 
    The primary resistance among Christians to the change of government, 
Wickeri said, comes from groups at the extreme opposite ends of the 
political spectrum.  On the left, a tiny group of Christian intellectuals 
is raising questions about justice and human rights.  On the right, small 
independent and Pentecostal churches with fiercely anticommunist ideologies 
fear loss of their religious freedom. 
 
    More mainstream church leaders do not completely dismiss these fears. 
According to the "Basic Law" -- Hong Kong's constitution after July 1 -- 
the government may not "restrict the freedom of religious belief, interfere 
in the internal affairs of religious organizations, or restrict religious 
activities which do not contravene the laws of the Region."  But there are 
varying interpretations of what this means, especially the last phrase. 
 
    Still, "it's better to have a positive attitude," said the Rev. Ching 
Chee Lee, associate general secretary of the Hong Kong Council of the 
Church of Christ in China, a denomination formed by the union of 
Presbyterians, Congregationalists and other traditions.  Churches living in 
fear under the shadow of China's Cultural Revolution need to realize that 
"the past is the past," she declared.  "We need to look to the future. 
Whether we like it or not, Hong Kong is part of China." 
 
    Ruth Shek, principal of church-related Chuen Yuen College, confesses 
some ambivalence about the handover to China.  She has lived in Hong Kong 
all her life and would not welcome new restrictions on accustomed freedoms. 
But faith -- and a sense of national pride -- lead her to support the 
change in government. 
 
    "I'm optimistic -- not because I have confidence in the Chinese 
government, but because I have confidence in God," she said.  "The future 
is not that threatening, because if you trust in God you can always find 
chances to do God's work. 
 
    "Please pray for us," she added. 

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