NEWS FEATURE: Palau crusade preaches hope amid Hong Kong’s uncertain future

c. 1997 Religion News Service HONG KONG _ Less than three months before the British colony of Hong Kong is set to return to Chinese sovereignty, U.S. evangelist Luis Palau preached a message of hope this weekend to tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents facing an uncertain future. During a four-day evangelistic crusade ending […]

c. 1997 Religion News Service

HONG KONG _ Less than three months before the British colony of Hong Kong is set to return to Chinese sovereignty, U.S. evangelist Luis Palau preached a message of hope this weekend to tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents facing an uncertain future.

During a four-day evangelistic crusade ending Sunday (April 13), Palau repeatedly said that trust in Jesus can allay fears about personal, social and political transition. Organizers said the total attendance for the four days of crusade events was estimated at 130,000.”God says, `I know the plans I have for you … to give you a future and a hope,'”Palau said on the opening night of the crusade, quoting from the Old Testament book of Jeremiah.”The question tonight is this: Is there hope for society? And the answer from the Bible is yes, a thousand times yes.” Local church leaders said Palau’s crusade theme,”Hope for Eternity,”was timely for a population of 6 million unsure about what may happen after July 1.


At midnight on June 30, Great Britain’s colonial hold on Hong Kong expires, and the territory will officially become a Special Administrative Region under the People’s Republic of China.

The Chinese have agreed to observe a policy of”one country, two systems”and have promised not to interfere with Hong Kong’s lifestyle _ especially its robust economic system _ for the next 50 years.

The Basic Law, China’s new mini-constitution for Hong Kong, also guarantees religious freedom and says church-state relations in the Special Administrative Region will be guided by three principles: mutual respect, mutual non-interference and mutual non-subordination.

Publicly, religious leaders of all faiths have praised the Basic Law. But privately, many also admit the crucial test will be how Beijing interprets and implements the provisions.

On April 9, the day before Palau began his crusade, Hong Kong’s designated post-July 1 government leader announced controversial new regulations placing restrictions on the freedom of association and assembly.

Under the proposed new regulations, all”societies”must be registered with the police, and political groups would be prohibited from establishing ties and funding relationships with foreign organizations. In addition, public”demonstrations”would have to get police permission.

International human rights groups condemned the proposals as vague and restrictive of basic civil liberties.


Some observers have suggested Palau’s crusade in Hong Kong’s 40,000-seat stadium could be the last mass evangelistic rally in the territory. In mainland China, all public evangelism is forbidden.

However, Palau said he was viewing this not as the last crusade of the”old”Hong Kong, but rather”the first crusade of a new China.” During Sunday’s closing meeting, Palau painted an optimistic picture for the packed stadium.”God is going to use you from Hong Kong to bless all of China,”the international evangelist said, adding he is waiting”in faith”to hold a similar crusade in Shanghai (in mainland China).

Palau, who is based in Portland, Ore., was invited to Hong Kong on the eve of the changeover by the Hong Kong Chinese Christian Churches Union, a Protestant coalition.

According to the Rev. Stephen Liu, chairman of the coalition, China’s prohibition on mass evangelism will not be implemented in Hong Kong.”After 1997, we will still have this type of evangelistic crusade,”he said in an interview.”In Hong Kong, we have the Basic Law and inside the Basic Law, they assure us that we will enjoy religious freedom in Hong Kong.” Across the territory, other religious leaders are putting their faith in the Basic Law as well.”China has promised to rule according to the Basic Law,”said Sik Chi-wai, a Hong Kong Buddhist leader who has been appointed as a religious adviser to Beijing.

For the majority Buddhist community, showing mutual respect for China under the Basic Law will likely mean ending ties to Buddhists in Taiwan, which China considers a renegade state, and also foregoing any relationship with the Dalai Lama in Tibet. Tibetan Buddhists have suffered severe cultural and religious persecution at the hands of China.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong has issued special pastoral guidelines for the transition, urging Hong Kong’s nearly 300,000 Catholics to study the Basic Law and remain active to make Hong Kong”a society where democracy and the rule of law along with justice and peace will prevail.” In China, the Catholic Church has been deeply divided between the officially sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association, whose bishops have been appointed by the Chinese government, and the”underground”church, which has sworn allegiance to the Vatican. Many underground bishops and priests have spent decades in Chinese prisons because of their”unsanctioned”religious activities.


In order to head off future wrangling over the appointment of the next bishop of Hong Kong, the pope last October named a Shanghai-born priest, the Rev. Joseph Zen, as coadjutor bishop of Hong Kong. The designation means that Zen is second in rank in the Hong Kong diocese, with the right of succession when Cardinal John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung, 71, steps down, probably within the next few years.

In an interview, Zen pinned high hopes on the Basic Law, although he acknowledged a key factor will be how China defines what constitutes”interference”in Chinese religious affairs.”I am not so much worried about our religious freedom (in Hong Kong), but more about our work with the church in China,”said Zen.

One of the most positive enthusiasts for Hong Kong’s future as part of China is the Rev. Tso Man-king, general secretary of the Hong Kong Christian Council, an umbrella organization of 20 mostly mainline Protestant bodies and Christian organizations.”China today is not the China of five or six years ago,”he said.”I thank God that colonialism is coming to an end.” Ironically, one of the most cautious voices is Tso’s predecessor, the Rev. Kwok Nai Wang, who now directs the Hong Kong Christian Institute.

Kwok notes that freedom of speech and assembly were guaranteed in China’s 1983 constitution. Six years later, he said, when Chinese students tried to exercise these rights,”they were met with machine guns and tanks in Tiananamen Square, which proves my point that without a government who has the will to respect and implement the Basic Law, it’s just something on paper.” Kwok believes religious freedom will lesson after the turnover.”Without press freedom, do you have religious freedom? Without the freedom of assembly, do you have religious freedom? Without the freedom of speech, do you have religious freedom? You have to put it all into context,”he said.

MJP END LAWTON

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