History OFFERS the best reference for crisis management in times of upheaval. This is particularly true for Christian churches in Hong Kong under China’s draconian security rule.
Last month, Monsignor Javier Herrera-Corona, previously the Vatican’s unofficial envoy in Hong Kong, warned that the territory’s further political integration with China would surely lead to autocratic restrictions on religious activities, and the Catholic Church should be prepared.
Worse still, Beijing and its public security agents in Hong Kong publicly condemned Cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君), a 90-year-old retired bishop, as one of the leading figures in the 2014 “Umbrella movement” and the 2019 democracy protests, even though Zen offered only moral and humanitarian support to victims of police oppression. In light of the government’s warning, local Christians would have to keep their heads down.
Even as Christians in Hong Kong remain a minority, it is a visible living faith. Churches in the territory provided vital relief efforts for countless mainland Chinese refugees in 1949. Catholics and Protestants in Hong Kong helped build an impressive structure of medical, educational and social welfare systems that healed the sick, nurtured the young and fed the poor.
Church leaders performed a delicate balancing act stabilizing church-state relations, but they are now waking up to the government’s fear over their global connections.
The territory is facing tremendous challenges under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. For the first time since 1989, none of the Catholic parishes, Protestant churches nor local mission schools commemorated the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4 this year.
The suffocating silence is forcing Christian agencies and churches to reassess their everyday operations in a restricted environment. Some foreign agencies have handed over executive and financial management responsibilities to their local colleagues to avoid suspicion.
Keeping Hong Kong out of the international spotlight is a top priority for the security regime. This harsh reality has made it difficult for clergy to keep politics at arms’ length, while defending church members critical of human rights abuses.
During this year’s anniversaries of the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the July 1, 1997, democracy rally, Hong Kong security officials ordered several political prisoners to tell Amnesty International and overseas churches not to publicize their cases in exchange for shorter sentencing. Such a manipulative tactic was designed to isolate the prisoners and weaken their resolve.
Despite Beijing’s intensifying ideological and political control of the territory, more Christians are learning the stories of martyrs in the Maoist era and the involvement of Taiwanese, South Korean and Philippine churches in democratic struggles. Reflecting on martyrdom and civic activism reveals valuable insights for empowerment.
The experiences of migrants and cross-cultural exchanges have transformed the Christian landscape. A significant number of Hong Kong’s Catholics and Protestants are from abroad, with numerous ministries for Southeast Asian domestic workers and for Mandarin speakers. Neighborhood churches often provide multilingual religious services in Cantonese, English, Mandarin, Tagalog and more.
Given Christianity’s cosmopolitan profile, China would need to think carefully before imposing mainland-style religious patriotic control in the territory.
Hong Kong Christians are part of global churches. They have lived with anxieties and on the stamina of their faith for decades. They have overcome great odds and are unlikely to give up now.
Joseph Tse-Hei Lee is professor of history at Pace University in New York.
An elderly mother and her daughter were found dead in Kaohsiung after having not been seen for several days, discovered only when a foul odor began to spread and drew neighbors’ attention. There have been many similar cases, but it is particularly troubling that some of the victims were excluded from the social welfare safety net because they did not meet eligibility criteria. According to media reports, the middle-aged daughter had sought help from the local borough warden. Although the warden did step in, many services were unavailable without out-of-pocket payments due to issues with eligibility, leaving the warden’s hands
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday announced that she would dissolve parliament on Friday. Although the snap election on Feb. 8 might appear to be a domestic affair, it would have real implications for Taiwan and regional security. Whether the Takaichi-led coalition can advance a stronger security policy lies in not just gaining enough seats in parliament to pass legislation, but also in a public mandate to push forward reforms to upgrade the Japanese military. As one of Taiwan’s closest neighbors, a boost in Japan’s defense capabilities would serve as a strong deterrent to China in acting unilaterally in the
Taiwan last week finally reached a trade agreement with the US, reducing tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15 percent, without stacking them on existing levies, from the 20 percent rate announced by US President Donald Trump’s administration in August last year. Taiwan also became the first country to secure most-favored-nation treatment for semiconductor and related suppliers under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act. In return, Taiwanese chipmakers, electronics manufacturing service providers and other technology companies would invest US$250 billion in the US, while the government would provide credit guarantees of up to US$250 billion to support Taiwanese firms
Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told a news conference on Jan. 9, in response to China’s latest round of live-fire exercises in the Taiwan Strait: “India has an abiding interest in peace and stability in the region, in view of our trade, economic, people-to-people and maritime interests. We urge all parties to exercise restraint, avoid unilateral actions and resolve issues peacefully without threat or use of force.” The statement set a firm tone at the beginning of the year for India-Taiwan relations, and reflects New Delhi’s recognition of shared interests and the strategic importance of regional stability. While India
RSS