Page 49 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

s
and applicable to some services, especially those basic facilities which are closely related to people’everyday lives. Thus,
democratization of government is a prerequisite for privatization. However, as far as Hong Kong is concerned, Hong Kong is
still lacking a completely democratized political system, and the fight for governmental democratization is still difficult and
mammoth.
3. Deregulation of economy

Deregulation of economy invalidates stringent labor laws, thus imposing damaging efforts on workers' and employees'
working environments and conditions as well as depriving them of a reasonable quality of life which they deserve.
Deregulation of economy deprives local manufacturing industry and small-and-medium enterprises from adequate
protection, thus rendering them feeble in the face of competition from exports and affluent multinational corporations and
ultimately forcing them to close up their business. The problem of unemployment is then exacerbated, bringing substantial
impacts on the society, especially in non-welfare states.
Deregulation of agriculture will put the majority of small and poor farmers in a losing battle against agro-business.
Deregulation is incapable of doing justice to the widely different geographical conditions under which farmers operate. It
risks to condemn millions of farmers to abandon their land. Worldwide the land under cultivation will shrink and the food
security of sovereign states will be undermined. There will be great loss culturally and socially and the food base of future
generations will be narrowed.

Mission of the church:
In the face of globalization, the church should strive for continual renewal and improvements. The church should
dedicate itself in the search for knowledge and discovery of various manifestations of the globalization process. In collabora-
tion with the community, the church should pursue a global vision and a new way of life. As a representation of the presence
of God in the earthly world and of God’ company with human-beings, the church should not be indifferent to public welfare.
s
Rather, based on the gospel's vision concerning re-creation of humanity and communities, the church must put emphasis on
unyielding respect for humanity, enhancement of life quality, social justice, participation in the world, sustainability of the
entire creation and the vision of a unified world.
In this era of globalization, human beings are always defined as economic beings. People see themselves as mere
consumers. All social roles are therefore vulnerable to re-definition as commercial transactions. On the other hand, economic
globalization pushes to exploit for maximum profit and upholds such an idea as the only meaningful value. However, our
Christian faith stresses that human-beings are not only economic-beings; on the contrary, we are created in accordance with
the image of the Holy Trinity. We realize our meaning and values of life in our close, harmonious relationships with God and
neighbors. Besides, God created a world of diversity and abundance, making all things in the world "according to their
various kinds". The spirit of creation run contrary to the commercial perspective supported by globalization. All globalization
processes should be consistent with the goals of nurturing lives and inducing diversity, rather than focusing on merely one
n
value. Jesus Christ has taught us “ is better to give than to receive”and “ot to be served but to serve”，which are contrary to

it
the concept of self-centered economic persons.
Besides, the church must give attention and response to the reality of economic polarization between the rich and the
poor in the contemporary world. On one hand, there is the affluent minority; on the other hand, there is the poor majority.
Such a phenomenon gives no glory to God and runs contrary to the vision of justice and sharing of wealth to be achieved by
means of equitable wealth redistribution in the imminent Jubilee (Leviticus 25, Luke 4). Bringing about an affluent world is
the common responsibility shared by the church and all people. However, an individual's good deeds and individual assis-
tance schemes, though inevitable, are not enough. What we need is participation by all countries and an equitable economic
system established by global organizations. Therefore, the church should be united on the basis of an ecumenical spirit in the
s

fight for hum anity’benefits and future.
In practice, the first and foremost responsibility of the church is to teach the congregation God's truth and understanding
of the current globalized world. In addition, the church should encourage the believers to put the Christian faith into practice
to glorify God and to witness to Christ in their everyday lives. The church should also actively participate in domestic and
international ecumenical movements. On the domestic level, corporations should be urged to undertake more corporate social
responsibility and accountability, so as to guarantee respect for the dignity of all persons and to protect sustainable develop-
ment of the natural environment. On the international level, the communicative network should be further strengthened
reform of international financial institutions should be called for in pursuit of further democratization justice and transparency，
Besides, the church should pay special attention to ensuring equality of male and female as well as child protection in
families. In addition, the church should insist that the importance of family shall never be compromised with the achievement
of any economic development, because strong families are crucial pillars of the society

( November, 2005 )
46