Hong Kong
RNS
Since protests began more than 12 weeks ago over an extradition bill that would allow Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China for trial, the city’s Christian community has taken an active role.
Groups of Christians regularly participate in the marches that have coursed through Hong Kong’s streets every weekend since June, and their pleas for peaceful protests and their hymns and prayers are often heard along with protest chants. One hymn, Sing Hallelujah to the Lord, written in 1974, has caught on as an anthem of the protests, sung by believers and non-believers alike.
More than 15,000 people attend an evening rally in Hong Kong on 23rd August, the first large-scale political rally for Christians since the democracy movement started in June. Sunny, a 24-year-old pastor and organizer of the rally, said: “We don’t have support from any organisation. We are just Christians from different churches. We used social media to spread the information and people showed up.” PICTURE: Alexandra Radu/RNS
The Christian hymn not only inspires: It grants the protesters some protection under a technicality in Hong Kong law of public assembly that exempts religious gatherings.
The bill that brought the protesters out into the streets has since been suspended, but the demonstrations have continued, turning into a larger campaign for democracy and for maintaining the “one country, two systems” model agreed upon when the former British colony returned to China in 1997.
The protests have sometimes turned violent. While some Hong Kong residents see violence as the only way to obtain their demands, many, including most Christians, choose to support the protests through peaceful means. The city’s Christians number about 900,000, or 12 per cent of Hong Kong’s population of roughly 7.5 million.
A group from a small Hong Kong church at a protest on 25th August. “We came to pray for the people, bless them and use our power of belief to help them. Our city is going in an extreme direction, but we hope we can bring some peace to the Hong Kong people,” said one of the participants. PICTURE: Alexandra Radu/RNS
Several Christian organisations have officially voiced their concerns over the extradition bill, including the Hong Kong Christian Council, the Catholic Diocese, the Baptist Convention of Hong Kong and the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church Union of Hong Kong. They have also urged the protesters to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.
The protests have provided Christians with an opportunity to voice their concerns about religious freedom. If China ends the “one country, two systems” status quo, they fear, the persecution of religious denominations in mainland China may spread to Hong Kong.
On Friday, tens of thousands of people gathered in Chater Garden for the first large-scale political rally specifically for Christians. With the motto “Salt and light, for justice we walk together,” the rally aimed to “provide all Christians a platform to express themselves outside the church, hoping people would safeguard Hong Kong by singing, praying, worshipping God and at the same time speaking up for justice and standing together with all the Hongkongers in difficult times,” said a press release from the rally organiser.
Below – Christian protesters pray during a rally on 23rd August, in Hong Kong. More than 15,000 people attended the event, the first large-scale political rally for Christians since the democracy movement started in June. PICTURE: Alexandra Radu/RNS
