Page 24 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

We are active in the Region too. We are a member Roman Catholic Church. We have mentioned several
of the Christian Conference of Asia. One of our Special Sundays. Not only did we encourage our
Executive Committee members was elected a CCA parishes and local congregations to observe these
President and another a General Committee member. together, but we also jointly prepared the background
Several of our staff members and women and youth material.
leaders contributed significantly in Regional con­ The Ecumenical Joint Committee on Develop­
ferences and seminars. We gave very generous admini­ ment decided to be less action-oriented. Informal
strative as well as financial support to the CCA's lunches for members and guests were held bi-monthly.
Hong Kong office which houses the Urban Rural For the past year, the Committee was particularly
Mission and the International Affairs staff. concerned with overall development in Asia and with
We continued to enjoy a very amiable relation­ Hong Kong’s housing policies.
ship with the churches in China through the Three A joint pastoral letter was issued by the Roman
Self Movement and the China Christian Council. Catholic Bishop, the Anglican Bishop and the Chair­
Plans for sending a delegation of local church pastors man of the Hong Kong Christian Council to mark
to visit the churches in China are underway. We had World Communications Sunday.
the privilege of welcoming Bishop K.H. Ting, Mr. Han "Sharing" is a valuable part of our experience in
Wenzao, Ms. Se Yu Chang and Rev. Chao Fu Shan to the ecumenical movement. This was the 9th year that
Hong Kong on two different occasions. The exchange we conducted the "Five Loaves and Two Fish Move­
of ideas was invariably enlightening. In order to keep ment” — an annual fund raising campaign for the
up with what is going on in the churches in China, hungry in Asia and Africa. We began the campaign on
beginning last fall a bimonthly informal meeting was Ash Wednesday. Up to May, we had already raised
held. Exchange of publications continued. We also more than HK$700,000. We were especially excited
tried our best to interpret to our overseas visitors to see that this campaign has now become a common
recent developments in the churches in China. cause for all Christians in Hong Kong whatever their
During the year under review, we expressed confessional backgrounds.
solidarity with a great many churches or church
councils who were being forced to face difficult 8. OTHER CONCERNS
situations and demands. Some of the more important Last year, the secretariat for the SIX MAJOR
ones included the Australian Council of Churches RELIGIONS in Hong Kong was extremely busy.
when they had to face the aftermath of a big bush Leaders of these six Major Religions met twice.
fire in Southern Australia; the Korean Council of Moral Education was the dominant issue for discussion.
Churches and the National Christian Council in the The Chinese New Year Statement and Gathering were
Philippines where instances of violations of human both well received. Seminars aimed at understanding
rights are not uncommon. each other's religious traditions and theologies were
As a council, we also communicated to the held bi-monthly. In order to highlight the needs and
National Christian Council in Japan that the Chinese potential of the elderly people in Hong Kong, two
in Hong Kong had very strong feelings regarding the exhibitions were organized and were well attended.
revision of Japanese textbooks, whereby the Japanese As a Council consisting of mostly Chinese
invasion and massacre in China in the were Christians, we were very interested in the draft of the
intentionally distorted. At the same time, the HKCC NEW CONSTITUTION of the PEOPLE's REPUBLIC
was very much concerned about the arms race and OF CHINA. We were especially concerned about the
the resurgence of militarism which greatly threaten clauses concerning the freedom of religious activities.
the survival of mankind. A small group was formed to study these clauses and
Coming back to the local scene, we continued to a forum was also held. Our views were articulated and
maintain an excellent working relationship with the sent to the Beijing Government via the Xinhua Press

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