Hong Kong churches push China on democracy
-15/11/05
Hong Kong church leaders have rej
Hong Kong churches push China on democracy
-15/11/05
Hong Kong church leaders have rejected a Chinese government proposal on constitutional reform which they say is unjust. They are calling for Christians to march against the proposal in December 2005 as part of a struggle for universal suffrage.
“To respect the Hong Kong people’s yearning for universal suffrage, we demand the government withdraw the proposal immediately and instead offer another proposal which allows Hong Kong to implement as soon as possible an electoral system based on one person, one vote,” leaders from Methodist, Congregational and Roman Catholic churches declared at a recent media conference held at Hong Kong’s Methodist Centre.
Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997 when it was handed over to China. It is now administered as a Special Administrative Region of China which gives it autonomy for the first 50 years after the end of colonial rule, under Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula.
The church leaders say they want universal suffrage for the chief executive and legislative council elections. Currently, Hong Kong’s chief executive is picked by a Beijing-backed committee of 800 electors and only half of the 60-seat legislative council is directly elected.
The Hong Kong government tabled reform proposals in October, which would increase the number of electors for the post of chief executive and the legislative council of the territory.
Those opposing the plan, which will be voted at the council on 21 December, say it violates democratic principles and does not outline when and how Hong Kong’s 6.9 million people will enjoy universal suffrage. The opponents are calling for a demonstration on 4 December.
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“Where do we go from here? We have to know what the second step is. We need a timetable of when the final goal can be reached, and even if they cannot give a timetable they should tell us what steps we should take to reach that goal,” Catholic Bishop Joseph Zen said at the media conference. “The proposal is useless.”
Methodist pastor Peter Wong Yuk Chee cited local research that found 65 per cent of those surveyed wanted a timetable on political reform and only 26 per cent said they did not mind if there was none. Church leaders said: “We call on all Christians and the people of Hong Kong to stand in solidarity with each other, to use our action to express our demand for universal suffrage and say No to the proposal [through a march on 4 December].”
The Rev Po Kam Cheong of the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China, said: “We ask all legislators to vote against the proposal and to join the march.”
Church leaders had met some pro-democracy legislative councillors on 4 November to support their rejection of the government’s new proposals. Despite a rally on 1 July 2003 that drew hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people into a street protest, Beijing has rejected universal suffrage for the territory as unlawful.
[With acknowledgements to ENI and Francis Wong. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.]
Hong Kong churches push China on democracy
-15/11/05
Hong Kong church leaders have rejected a Chinese government proposal on constitutional reform which they say is unjust. They are calling for Christians to march against the proposal in December 2005 as part of a struggle for universal suffrage.
“To respect the Hong Kong people’s yearning for universal suffrage, we demand the government withdraw the proposal immediately and instead offer another proposal which allows Hong Kong to implement as soon as possible an electoral system based on one person, one vote,” leaders from Methodist, Congregational and Roman Catholic churches declared at a recent media conference held at Hong Kong’s Methodist Centre.
Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997 when it was handed over to China. It is now administered as a Special Administrative Region of China which gives it autonomy for the first 50 years after the end of colonial rule, under Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula.
The church leaders say they want universal suffrage for the chief executive and legislative council elections. Currently, Hong Kong’s chief executive is picked by a Beijing-backed committee of 800 electors and only half of the 60-seat legislative council is directly elected.
The Hong Kong government tabled reform proposals in October, which would increase the number of electors for the post of chief executive and the legislative council of the territory.
Those opposing the plan, which will be voted at the council on 21 December, say it violates democratic principles and does not outline when and how Hong Kong’s 6.9 million people will enjoy universal suffrage. The opponents are calling for a demonstration on 4 December.
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“Where do we go from here? We have to know what the second step is. We need a timetable of when the final goal can be reached, and even if they cannot give a timetable they should tell us what steps we should take to reach that goal,” Catholic Bishop Joseph Zen said at the media conference. “The proposal is useless.”
Methodist pastor Peter Wong Yuk Chee cited local research that found 65 per cent of those surveyed wanted a timetable on political reform and only 26 per cent said they did not mind if there was none. Church leaders said: “We call on all Christians and the people of Hong Kong to stand in solidarity with each other, to use our action to express our demand for universal suffrage and say No to the proposal [through a march on 4 December].”
The Rev Po Kam Cheong of the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China, said: “We ask all legislators to vote against the proposal and to join the march.”
Church leaders had met some pro-democracy legislative councillors on 4 November to support their rejection of the government’s new proposals. Despite a rally on 1 July 2003 that drew hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people into a street protest, Beijing has rejected universal suffrage for the territory as unlawful.
[With acknowledgements to ENI and Francis Wong. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.]