February 20, 2001

HONG KONG, (CWNews.com/Fides) - The coadjutor bishop of Hong Kong and localmissionaries have said they are alarmed by growing restrictions on religiousfreedom in the former British territory which is now controlled by CommunistChina.

In a speech on February 8, Tung Chee-hwa, governor of the former colony,described the Falun Gong movement as an "[Chinese government's slanderous word]." [...] Falun Gong is aspiritual meditation movement that gained the attention of Communistauthorities when movement members organized protests against restrictions. "To call the Falun Gong an [Chinese government's slanderous word] is alarming, not only for the movementbut also for the Church," Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Zen wrote in an article inthe Sunday Examiner, the Hong Kong diocese's Catholic weekly. "There is nocommonly accepted definition of an 'evil cult'. An organization is labeled'evil' only if it teaches against some important commonly accepted moralstandards: restriction of personal freedom through physical or psychologicalmanipulation of family values or endangering one's own or others' lives. Theattempted suicides in Tiananmen Square seem to be surrounded by questionmarks. Falun Gong has declared that suicide is against their doctrine. Ifone identifies criticism of the government with evil, then the undergroundCatholic Church might be in danger of being branded an evil cult as well."

Regarding the situation of the Catholic Church in mainland China, Bishop Zenrecalls that "any kind of resistance and protest, even though peaceful, isnot allowed in mainland China. Since Falun Gong chose to protest in a verypublic manner and the government had underestimated their strength, the [group]was declared [Chinese government's slanderous word]. The underground Catholic Church has escaped suchtreatment because their protest has only been low key and the internationalprestige of the Catholic Church cannot be ignored. But what has been done tothe former could easily be extended to suppress the latter," warns theCatholic leader.

"If Falun Gong is accused of causing disorder in Hong Kong society, justbecause of its peaceful protests, then such a label can be easily appliedtomorrow to the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, to the diocese. andto many Christian bodies," he said. Bishop Zen ends by requesting that Tungamend his statement or accept that he owes the Church some reassurance.

[...]

Missionaries in Hong Kong say the SAR government is closing in on theCatholic Church and her activity in education and social assistance. InDecember, the government accused Catholics schools of fraud for using publicstructures, rented as schools, for religious and not educational purposes.

On January 30 the Minister of Education, in an official letter, warned theGrant Schools Council, which comprises 22 mostly Catholic and Protestantschools not to be too conservative in their education system.

Moreover the Hong Kong Women's Christian Council, a Protestant organization,risks being removed from the list of charitable organizations and losing taxprivileges, on charges of political activities.