NEWS STORY: Hong Kong mainline leaders have divergent views on return to China

c. 1997 Religion News Service HONG KONG _ For the Rev. Tso Man-king, general secretary of the Hong Kong Christian Council (HKCC), the impending July 1 return of the British colony to Chinese sovereignty will be the”birth of a new era”when colonialism dies and territory residents can finally”create our own history.” But for the Rev. […]

c. 1997 Religion News Service

HONG KONG _ For the Rev. Tso Man-king, general secretary of the Hong Kong Christian Council (HKCC), the impending July 1 return of the British colony to Chinese sovereignty will be the”birth of a new era”when colonialism dies and territory residents can finally”create our own history.” But for the Rev. Kwok Nai-wang, one of Tso’s predecessors at the HKCC, July 1 is a day of trepidation, when democratic advances _ only recently granted _ will be scaled back and Hong Kong may just be exchanging one colonial ruler for another.

At midnight on June 30, Great Britain’s 99-year colonial lease on Hong Kong expires, and the territory will become a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. As the deadline looms, there is intense speculation in all sectors of society about the implications of the changeover.


Within Hong Kong’s religious community, some of the sharpest philosophical divisions are not between liberal and conservative churches, but rather within the mainline Protestant movement.

One of the most enthusiastic voices about Hong Kong’s future is Tso, leader of the HKCC. The HKCC’s members include 20 mostly mainline Protestant denominations and eight parachurch organizations, such as the Hong Kong Bible Society, the Chinese Christian Literature Council and the YMCA.

Similarly, one of the most outspoken voices of concern is Kwok, who was general secretary of the HKCC from 1978 to 1988. Today, Kwok is director of the Hong Kong Christian Institute, an advocacy-oriented think tank he and 120 other Christians founded in 1988 to contribute to”the social betterment of Hong Kong, especially during the crucial transitional period.” Both prominent mainline Protestant leaders, Kwok and Tso approach Hong Kong’s future with dramatically different outlooks.

From his ninth floor office in the HKCC headquarters in Hong Kong’s congested Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district, Tso exudes confidence about life after July 1. “At the Hong Kong Christian Council, we try to present a positive image toward 1997,”said Tso.”Many try to present an image that July 1 is the doomsday of Hong Kong, but I live here day in and day out, and I don’t feel it.” China has promised not to interfere in Hong Kong’s way of life _ except for matters of foreign affairs and defense _ for at least 50 years under a policy of”one country, two systems.” Tso pins high hopes on the Basic Law, China’s mini-constitution for Hong Kong. Article 141 of the Basic Law contains explicit provisions guaranteeing freedom of religious beliefs and activities. “If that is implemented, then I don’t see that there should be much problem in the future in Hong Kong,”Tso said.

Part of Tso’s optimism stems from his view of China. Tso admits the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square massacre, when Chinese troops fired on pro-democracy demonstrators, left an indelible imprint on the minds of Hong Kong citizens.”The shock can never be forgotten,”he said.”But China today is not China of five or six years ago,”Tso asserted.”China actually is not a communist country any more. They are having private ownership. How can a communist country allow private ownership?” With that in mind, Tso said he hopes China and Hong Kong can work together”to develop a new (political) system using the best of the two systems and screening out the worst of both.” Said Tso:”It’s a very positive challenge.” But Kwok of the Hong Kong Christian Institute is concerned about the challenges ahead. Active in the pro-democracy movement, Kwok fears that China already has been inappropriately influencing Hong Kong by pushing the future government to step back from democratic reforms adopted in the past few years.”If China continues to interfere in Hong Kong affairs at its whim, Hong Kong will become just another Chinese city,”Kwok said in an interview in his Mong Kok office in another of Hong Kong’s bustling commercial districts.

Kwok is especially concerned about new regulations announced in early April that will pare down the territory’s civil and political liberties.”Because of these new laws, it will be more difficult to fight for more political freedom, so I’m not very optimistic about religious freedom after the handover,”he said.”If you just want to shut the church building and confine your activities to inside the church building, then there may not be any problem. But once you want to put your faith into practice, then you might have a few problems.” Kwok is not fully reassured by the guarantees of the Basic Law. He noted that China’s 1983 Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. But, he said, six years after those guarantees were adopted, Chinese students attempting to exercise those rights”were met with machine guns and tanks”in Tiananmen Square.”That proves my point,”he asserted with emotion.”Without a government (that) has the will to respect and implement the Basic Law, it’s just something on paper.” Kwok is also critical of church leaders, including many within the HKCC, who have advised the Chinese government and participated in the political”power game”over Hong Kong’s future. Several mainline leaders have been part of various China-influenced political committees to select the new post-July 1 chief executive and provisional legislative councilors.

After extensive internal debate, the HKCC executive committee issued a statement last year that said the council could”participate indirectly”in the process of selecting leaders in the new government.


The Christian Institute maintains that the current Legislative Council, determined by Hong Kong’s first fully democratic elections in 1995, should not be disbanded at the handover.

Kwok believes that participation in setting up the new government hinders the church’s ability to maintain an independent social conscience.”Many church leaders say it is better to work from within, but the problem is, they will be totally absorbed,”Kwok said.

Both Kwok and Tso are pleased that British rule is ending. And both believe that people from all strata of Hong Kong society should have a say in determining the future.”The people’s confidence in the future has never been so high,”Tso asserted.

But Kwok believes the people of Hong Kong are not confident, just quiet. “They are keeping their mouths shut,”he said.”Quiet doesn’t mean they have confidence. Quiet means survival.”

MJP END LAWTON

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