In-puts on Hong Kong

IN-PUTS ON HONG KONG:

A primary consideration in locating this year's Programme in Hong Kong is the live debate that focuses on the "destiny of Hong Kong". As one of the last vestiges of British colonialism, Hong Kong, situated at the southern tip of the People's Republic of China, is currently embroiled in an international diplomatic tangle as to its future. New China has consistently maintained that treaties made by Britain with the ruling dynasty of 19th century China from a position of strength were "unequal treaties" but has never made any move to re-annex the territory by force. Other considerations were the obvious commercialisation and economic growth of the colony pushing a vast number of its population to the brink of crises after crises - housing, employment, education facilities and the like.

Detailed and yet concise presentations on Hong Kong and the life therein were made by a number of eminent personalities. Rev. Ralph Lee, a former staff of the HKCC and currently Chaplain of the United Christian Hospital spoke of the various living religions in .Hong Kong. However, he spent a good deal of time speaking on the Churches in H. K. He delineated some salient feature of the Church in Hong Kong which could be summarised thus:

(a) Small, individual and Independent local congregations are on the increase;

(b) the central concern is church growth;

(d) the Theological foundations are still conservative, yet the so-called "evangelicals" have shown a sensitivity to social problems;

(e) major denominations have become self-supporting;

and

(f) recently, HK Churches has become a "giving-church" both financially and also in terms of sending personnel.

Rev. Ms. Lee Ching Chee, Associate General Secretary of the Church of Christ in China (Hong Kong Council) while speaking on "Education in Hong Kong" brought out the privileged character of the Christians and churches in the colony. She pointed out the heavy subsidies and incentives made by the colonial government to the Churches in the construction of schools and that how education has become a primary business concern for the Churches.

As an ardent critic of Hong Kong's educational policy, she brought to light the competitiveness of the system driving students to pursue the capitalist path of self-centredness and profit maximisation. The values inculcated by the system, according to Rev. Lee, who herself is an educationalist, are stifling to the growth of the individual and does not enhance the quality of life. Students being perpetually engaged in a "paper-chase" (for degrees and diplomas) are no totally unaware and unconcerned about the wholeness of life, and such education in H.K. has produced a callous society totally dedicated to the pursuit of material wealth and false-consciousness.

Rev. Hans Lutz of the Christian Industrial Committee (CIC) spoke on the "people and economy of Hong Kong". He began with a brief history of the colonisation of Hong Kong and stressed the growth and importance of Hong Kong as a major industrial and trade port based on the "laissez faire" system. He said that in today's Hong Kong a total of 250,000 people are employed in 47,000 "factories". The word "factories" are sometimes misleading, for in Hong Kong most of them are production units of small entrepreneurs engaged in the production of consumer items. To give an idea of the situation, he quoted statistics to define the "small-ness" or "big-ness" of the factory. One figure amply tells the tale of the size: only 40 out of the 47,000 factories are said to be employing over a thousand people. Such being the situation of employment, there is very little scope for a territory-wide unionisation of workers. But the worker are organised in small unions and there are a total of 378 of them with 60% of the total workforce forming its ranks.

Participants in the Lecture Room

Rev. Lutz then elaborated in detail the work of the CIC among the workers in Hong Kong. He stressed the pioneering role of the CIC as concerned group acting in co-operation with workers' unions on the questions of industrial safety, wages, compensations at the time of closure and other monetary benefits. The CIC also act as a "counsellor" in matters related to the spiritual life of the workers by enabling them to open "workers' churches".

Complementing some of the "situational inputs" was a session on he "Destiny of Hong Kong or the 1997 question" led by Mr. Victor Liu. Victor, former Chairperson of the SCM of Hong Kong and a tutor at Chung Chi College belongs to a small group of activities engaged in highlighting the "1997" debate from the perspective of the people in Hong Kong. He quoted in detail the stands of the various groups on the debates. Basically, he said, there are the "optimists" and the "pessimists" due to the peculiar composition of the population of HK. He told the group to bear in mind that approximately 3 million people of today's Hong Kong are "refugees" of the era immediately following the liberation of China and that another half a million are "new immigrants" of the 70's lured by the consumerism HK had to offer, and that both these groups are wary of any initiatives by China. Of the remainder, many are totally a political and some are resigned to "fate". Nonetheless, in the debate, two major lines seemed to have emerged, represented by the "optimists" and "pessimists". The "optimists" hold the view that China would allow Britain to administer Hong Kong as mere "tenants" for an extended period; while the "pessimists" see no other way except the relinquishing of "sovereignty" by the British and the reclaiming of the territory by the PRC. Victor who is a member of various "think-tanks" on this question says of the emergence of a third line and that is "being pessimistic but positive". To elaborate this he went into detail some of the constitutional constraints within the PRC's Constitution today as in the case of "democratisation" struggle in China today. Calling this struggle as the "Fifth modernisation", he feels that "Hong Kong should change its "status quo" thus contributing to China the values and principles of "a political democracy" and at the same time converting Hong Kong "to a non-exploitative economic order".

On an Asian level, he opined, the current debate has great significance when most Asian countries are caught in the throes of semi-colonialism and bureaucrat-capitalistic exploitation. Its significance assumes larger importance when we see today's Asia struggling with the questions of national identity (nationalism) and the principles of justice and freedom.