ICC Note: Four Hong Kong Christian groups jointly held a special prayer on April 30 for the persecuted Church in China, calling the Chinese government to stop repressing religious freedom. 40 participants met outside of the liaison office of Chinese government to sing, read a joint statement, and march around the building.  

05/03/2018 Hong Kong (UCA News) – A special prayer was held in Hong Kong for China to stop repressing religious freedom.

The prayer’s theme was “Safeguard religious freedom for believers of the mainland today and of Hong Kong tomorrow.”

It was jointly organized by Hong Kong’s Justice and Peace Commission, Christians for Hong Kong Society, Hong Kong Christian Fellowship of City Concern and Hong Kong Christian Institute.

The 40 participants met outside the liaison office of the Central People’s Government to sing hymns, read a joint statement, post crosses on a map of China and march around the building.

Commission project officer Or Yan-yan told ucanews.com that Catholics were very upset as they kept hearing news about the closure of mainland churches and restrictions on religion.

“Hong Kong, as the place closest to China, should speak out for those who are isolated and helpless to fight suppression,” she said.

She hoped believers on the mainland would see support from their brothers and sisters in Hong Kong and let Chinese authorities know that “even though our strength is so small to make any changes, we still want them not to infringe human rights arbitrarily.”

Rev. Lau Chi Hung of Christian City Mission Church told ucanews.com that the prayer represented persistence. “As long as the problem exists, we still need to speak out,” he said.

The four groups that initiated the prayer and two other groups — Christians To The World and Yellow Umbrella Christian Base Community —  issued a joint statement calling on the Chinese government to stop suppressing religious freedom, particularly in Henan province where the situation is severe.

It stated that officials had ordered believers not to gather, drove away unregistered underground priests, confiscated sacred objects and books, and threatened believers by deducting subsidies from the elderly and preventing their children from attending school.

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