wfn.org | Hong Kong Christian Council

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (194
notes).

Note 192 by UMNS on July 1, 1997 at 15:46 Eastern (2802 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency
of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn.,
New York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Bloom                              380(10-71B){191}
          New York (212) 870-3803                     July 1, 1997

Hong Kong Christians
look to future with China

                 by United Methodist News Service

     Christians in Hong Kong are proud of regaining their Chinese
identity; support the new "one country, two systems" policy there;
and will work to retain religious freedom.
     Those sentiments are expressed in the 1997 Handover
Declaration of the Hong Kong Christian Council -- of which the
Methodist Church is a part -- which was released in June. The
declaration is in response to the return of Hong Kong to the
People's Republic of China on July 1.
     Christians there will acknowledge the transition in worship
by observing "Hong Kong Sunday" on July 6.
     To prepare for their joined future, Christians in Hong Kong
and China have strengthened their ties over the past 10 years,
according to the Rev. Tso Man-king, the council's general
secretary.
     In an article, "Committed to Hong Kong," prepared for the
Council of World Mission in London, Man-king noted that "our
differences are not as important as what unites us," which is the
love of Jesus Christ.
     The council also has considered the broader implications of
the handover. "As with church unity, we need to appreciate what we
have in common with China as well as what makes us different," he
wrote in the article, calling 1997 "an opportunity to move forward
together."
     In its declaration, the council pledged its participation "in
the social construction of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region," working to safeguard the legal system and freedom of
assembly, press, communication, religious belief and academic
freedom. It also called upon the government to revise the basic
law occasionally as needed for social development.
     "We consider our task is not only to make our society stable,
progressive and united, but also to shape Hong Kong in becoming a
compassionate society," the declaration said.
     In a World Council of Churches statement about the July 1
handover, the Rev. Konrad Raiser, general secretary, noted that
the churches in Hong Kong are responsible for 60 percent of social
welfare work, including the running of schools and hospitals.
     The Hong Kong Christian Council also has pledged to continue
to proclaim the gospel of Jesus. "This gospel leads us to give
love where there is hatred, faith where there is suspicion, hope
where there is disappointment, light where there is darkness," the
declaration stated.
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