Displaying items by tag: Hong Kong

Since Hong Kong’s anti-government protests began, Beijing’s state TV (CCTV) has gone to great lengths to demonise protesters and mislead Chinese and international audiences about the nature of the movement. CCTV’s flagship news programme runs segments denouncing the protests, claiming they are linked to ‘external forces’. It also reported that a protester had blinded a woman, whereas she was actually struck in the eye by a police bean-bag round. The station’s international arm released videos and graphics on YouTube and Facebook, comparing protesters to Islamist militants and claiming they are backed by US spy agencies. Recently a news video platform urged its 89 million followers to identify, investigate, and publish online the personal information of Hong Kong protesters and journalists - thus targeting the political enemies of the Communist party, which celebrated its 70th anniversary on 1 October. It has taken China less than 70 years to emerge from isolation to become one of the world's greatest economic powers.

In 1989, the longest human chain in history (675 kilometres) was formed from north Estonia across Latvia to south Lithuania, as a moral protest against the illegal occupation of those lands by the Soviet Union. Thirty years later, thousands of protesters formed an unauthorised but peaceful human chain across Hong Kong in a movement against the erosion of liberties under Chinese rule. On 29 August, at 3 am, Hong Kong became alarmed as Chinese troops, armoured personnel carriers and trucks poured into the city in what Beijing called 'routine' troop rotation. China has made it clear recently that it considers a military intervention in the crisis a viable option, despite US warnings that this might lead to a repeat of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. On 30 August, three prominent protesters were arrested. See

IPC colleague, Tom Victor reports back on the Chinese Homecoming and Watchmen gatherings held in July.

God’s Amazing Family!

Hong Kong has been in the news a lot lately. But with all the mass gatherings and ongoing protests, perhaps you missed the most exciting news!

From July 24-27 thousands of Chinese Christians from around the world met in Hong Kong to worship, to pray and to celebrate their “Oneness” in Christ.

They came from the mainland, from Hong Kong, from Taiwan and from nations around the world. These believers recognize that they are One Family with One Father.

This is their true identity. They are committed to be one in Christ - just as Jesus prayed facing the cross.

Their oneness found expression across the generations as the worship turned towards children.  On the last evening, a group of children in “full animal costumes” led us in our time of worship and celebration. The joy was contagious and gave new meaning to the words of Jesus: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Luke 18:16

Others from around the world also came to Hong Kong to worship, pray, celebrate and cheer on our precious Chinese family. Several leaders from Japan and Korea were present. They are all committed to walk together as One Family in Christ, an identify that transcends the history of brutal conflict and conquest between these nations!

What an amazing family! What an amazing God!

A group called Watchmen for the Nations put on the Chinese Homecoming. They are led by a former Egyptian medical doctor, David Demian. The Watchmen group hosts similar gatherings all around the world. David’s team includes young leaders who were front and center in the planning and execution of the Chinese Homecoming. They were the ones who felt God calling them to include the children in worship. It’s no wonderthat more than 50% of the attendees in Hong Kong were under the age of 40. Their passion for Oneness extends in tangible ways - across generational lines.

(Photo - left to right: Tom Victor / Werner Nachtigal / Dr Jason Hubbard)

A team of more than 180 leaders gathered for two days before the larger event to pray and seek God together for His direction. Some of us with the International Prayer Council were invited to join them – topray and to listen to God together. Before those two days ended, we felt God wascalling us to “enlarge ourfamily” by committing to walk together.

The Watchmen for the Nations team allowed us to share the Go 2020 Kids vision and key resources with their leadership team. We are now working to get the Go 2020 Kids “tool kit” into Chinese. So good!

Tom Victor – Great Commission Coalition / IPC Leadership Team

Please pray for resolution between Hong Kong's pro-democracy people and China’s government. After police firing as many rounds of tear gas in one day as during the entire months of June and July, a general strike, and days of disruptions at Hong Kong Airport, protesters are now being called terrorists and China’s ambassador to the UK has warned that troops will intervene to restore order if necessary. Videos show a massive number of Chinese military vehicles gathering along the border. Hong Kong has its own legal system, borders, and rights including freedom of assembly and free speech, which are all meant to be protected. But things are changing. Rights groups accuse China of meddling in Hong Kong with legal rulings that disqualify pro-democracy legislators; also, five Hong Kong booksellers and a tycoon disappeared, all eventually re-emerging in custody in China. Artists and writers are under increased pressure to self-censor.

Demonstrators' demands have included the withdrawal of an extradition bill; demanding an inquiry into police brutality; removing the ‘riot’ label from peaceful protests; the release of arrested demonstrators; and universal suffrage. Their marches on 27 July were called ‘illegal’ by Chinese authorities after the previous week’s infiltration by Triad (mafia) agitators. Protesters complained that the police stood back and allowed mafia-initiated violence. The next day they marched again, and the violence hit a new level of pain and injury. Hong Kong’s protests have lasted eight weeks and are spreading into more remote communities. Protests are becoming more violent - setting fire to carts and throwing dangerous projectiles met by enormous plumes of teargas. Parents and children washed their eyes out in the teargas fog. On 30 July hundreds of protesters blocked access to commuter trains, causing widespread disruption during the rush hour. Pray for the international community to take action.

HONG KONG (AP) — Police in Hong Kong fired tear gas Saturday at protesters who defied authorities’ warnings not to march in a neighborhood where six days earlier a mob apparently targeting demonstrators brutally attacked people in a train station.

Protesters wearing black streamed through Yuen Long, even though police refused to grant permission for the march, citing risks of confrontations between demonstrators and local residents.

For the protesters, it was a show of defiance against the white-clad assailants who beat dozens of people last Sunday night, including some demonstrators heading home after the latest mass protest in the summer-long pro-democracy movement. Police said some of the attackers at the train station were connected to triad gangs and others were villagers who live in the area.

The streets of Yuen Long became a sea of umbrellas as the march began Saturday afternoon. A symbol going back to the Occupy Central protests that shook Hong Kong in 2014, umbrellas have become tools to help protesters conceal their identities from police cameras as well as shields against tear gas and pepper spray. Some also wore masks to obscure their faces.

“Hong Kong police know the law and break the law,” protesters chanted as they made their way through the streets.

Less than three hours after the start of the march, police fired tear gas to try to disperse crowds that had ignored authorities’ appeals to leave the area. Police said in a statement that they were clearing out the protesters, who were “holding iron poles, self-made shields and even removing fences from roads.”

Some protesters also endangered police officers’ lives by surrounding and vandalizing an occupied police vehicle, the statement added.

As the demonstration rolled into the evening, officers in riot gear faced off with protesters using wooden sheets as shields. Live footage from broadcaster RTHK showed protesters on one street forcing back riot police by throwing umbrellas and waving rods at them. On another street, officers repeatedly raised warnings and fired tear gas at masked demonstrators who were standing their ground.

Hong Kong’s public transit network had announced that its trains would not be making their usual stops in Yuen Long on Saturday, but protesters later reported being able to disembark at stations in the neighborhood. Several area businesses and public facilities were closed in anticipation of the march. Service at a nursing center was temporarily suspended, and sports venues shut down early.

A few hours before the march started, a man was arrested in Yuen Long for injuring someone with a knife, police said.

Massive demonstrations began in Hong Kong early last month against an extradition bill that would have allowed suspects to face trial in mainland China, where critics say their rights would be compromised. The bill was eventually suspended, but protesters’ demands have grown to include direct elections, the dissolution of the current legislature and an investigation into alleged police brutality in the Chinese territory.

A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 under the framework of “one country, two systems.” The arrangement promises the city certain democratic freedoms that are not afforded mainland citizens, but some residents say these liberties have been steadily eroded in recent years after the arrests of booksellers and democracy activists.

A distrust of China’s Communist Party-led central government in Beijing has undergirded the protests this summer. After last Sunday’s march, a group of protesters vandalized Hong Kong’s Liaison Office, which represents the mainland government. They spray-painted the building’s surveillance cameras and threw eggs and black ink at the Chinese national emblem, an act that Beijing has vehemently condemned.

In response to the police’s objection to Saturday’s march in Yuen Long, protesters have cheekily labeled the procession a “shopping trip,” as well as a memorial service for former Chinese Premier Li Peng, who died on Monday. Li was a hard-liner best known for announcing martial law during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests that ended in bloodshed.

Some Yuen Long residents participated in the march, while others stood outside with signs warning protesters not to enter. For their part, demonstrators pasted calls for democracy on sticky notes around the area.

“After the violence (last Sunday), as a resident of Yuen Long, I think I have the responsibility to come out,” said a 24-year-old man surnamed Man. “After all these protests in past months, the government still hasn’t responded to us.”

With reporting by Associated Press

More at: https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2019/july/hong-kong-police-fire-tear-gas-after-protesters-defy-ban

This article that shares some of the voices of the youth in HK.

As you pray, you may listen to the hearts of those protesting/fighting.

(1.) afraid of post-2048 one country one system HK (with restrictions on personal freedoms and justice)

(2.) no hope for a house / home of their own.

Matthew (from Hong Kong)

Pray: For the democratic rights of the people of Hong Kong to be preserved and respected.
Pray: For a de-escalation of the situation and that anymarches will be peaceful.

Demonstrations in Hong Kong have drawn in the youth, parents, first-time protesters and the church, while migrant workers have quietly and consistently participated since the beginning. Migrants distrust the Chinese justice system. In June a Chinese trawler rammed into a Filipino fishing vessel in the South China Sea (called the West Philippine Sea in the Philippines), over which China has claimed dominion. The Filipino boat’s 22-man crew ended up in the water, fearing for their lives, for hours as their vessel sank. They were ultimately rescued by Vietnamese sailors. Chinese officials downplayed the incident as an accident. Onlookers call it one of many dangerous disagreements where China has used its strength to strong-arm neighbouring nations, displaying unwanted authoritarian actions. One migrant said, ‘The moment you make your opposition to certain government policies known, you are treated like a threat to state security, and can be jailed for years.’

The 1984 treaty between the UK and China paved the way for sovereignty over the territory to pass back to Beijing. A joint declaration set out how the rights of Hong Kong citizens should be protected for the next 100 years. Hong Kong has a judicial system independent from China, but a controversial proposed extradition bill flies in the face of the treaty. It caused huge protests, and activists occupied parliament buildings. China’s reaction to this event prompted Jeremy Hunt to summon its ambassador on 3 July, saying that he rejected Beijing’s ‘unacceptable behaviour and inaccurate remarks’. On 4 July China warned the UK not to interfere in its domestic affairs and labelled the UK ‘hypocritical’, saying that it no longer has a say in how Hong Kong should be run and managed. See also ‘Hong Kong Christians’ in world section.

Last week we praised God for the peaceful anti-extradition bill rallies in city streets. This week violent demonstrators stormed the legislative building in protest against the extradition bill. Many Christians feared for their lives in light of the now-suspended bill, due to China having some of the most restrictive religious freedom laws on earth. According to the law, religious assemblies in public areas are not deemed illegal, so if people sing hymns together, it could actually work as a protection and guarantee that they stay safe. But this week people started to sing ‘Sing hallelujah to the Lord’ to protect themselves in chaotic scenes of huge groups storming into government buildings, painting graffiti on the walls and even draping the front lectern in a British Hong Kong flag used during the colonial period. Amid the political turmoil, Hong Kong’s many Christian leaders have called for peace and progress. Pray for people with different positions and opinions to listen to each other.

We are excited to announce the North East Asia Prayer Council gathering in Hong Kong, July 22nd, with Gloria Au Yeung and her amazing team.

We would be honoured to have friends of IPC from around the world to join us and also if you could help us get the word out to invite key prayer leaders that you know from Korea, Japan, Hong Kong/China, and Mongolia.

People that attend are also encouraged to stay with us for the Oneness Gathering with David Demian and his team from China, July 24-27th.

My heart for this is to see a true spirit of John 17 unity and oneness grow between these beautiful nations and prayer movements.

Dr Jason Hubbard - Executive Coordinator

International Prayer Connect