The plight of Hong Kong and its Christians
(STREAM) – Is there hope for Hong Kong? That’s the question the city’s citizens, including nearly 1 million Protestant and Catholic Christians, are being forced to ask daily.
Under more than 150 years of British rule, Hong Kong established itself as a bridge from East to West, and an economic powerhouse that protected the basic freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly. In 1997, when the British government relinquished control to Beijing, a 50-year transitional period was established under a principle known as “one country, two systems.” The idea that China would respect the agreement and Hong Kong’s liberties might have been tenuous, but it wasn’t completely irrational. In terms of economic prosperity and a tolerance for democratic norms, some even hoped Beijing’s own system would evolve to mirror Hong Kong’s.
That hasn’t happened. In fact, as The Atlantic’s Timothy McLaughlin wrote in April, “[T]hese hopes have now all but been extinguished.”
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