| The Asia Lutheran Webmaster |
| ASIA LUTHERAN HOME |
previousarticle |
 next article |
|
|
| |
A sensitive court case arose recently regarding the right of mainland children-whose parents were Hong Kong citizens-to claim residency in Hong Kong. Nobody knows exactly how many children fit into this category. For participants in the Lutheran World Federation Assembly 1997, this issue is not a new one. Some delegates were ready to discuss the issue, feeling that problems could arise in this area of citizenship, but Hong Kong Lutherans were hesitant to make the issue into an appeal or statement.
It turned out to be a valid subject to address as we can see from the recent court case-and Beijing's National People's Congress reactions to that case. The interpretation of the Hong Kong legal system set forth in the Basic Law has also played a major role in the case.
Rev. Dr. Tso Man-King, the General Secretary of the Hong Kong Christian Council has concerns about the Hong Kong legal system as well.
The result of the court case, tried on February 24 in Hong Kong's highest court, was to permit the mainland children to reside in Hong Kong. However, a Final Court of Appeal, after pressure from Beijing, later declared the NPC to be the supreme law-making body, overriding the Hong Kong court decision. The Yearly NPC assembly then removed the issue from their agenda. Rev. Tso Man King, said this human rights issue came about because of the vagueness of the Basic Law, Article 158 (click). The article is under Chapter VIII, gInterpretation and Amendment of the Basic Law.h There have been many discussions on whether this issue was to be an internal issue or not among Hong Kongers, according to Tso. Some have observed that many Hong Kong residents expect Beijing will prevent the children from coming into this small region.
Tso said gone country, two systemsh is Hong Kong's life-line and a model which ensures that Hong Kong residents can enjoy their present human rights and freedom of religion. He said that now, almost 20 months after the hand-over in July 1997, there hasn't been any change in Hong Kong's freedom of religion. Today's biggest social concern is the economy. Rocketing unemployment rose from 2.2 percent to it's present 5.8 percent, leaving about 220,000 people jobless in Hong Kong. This has thrown a dark shadow on the society as a whole. The present court case might also have some effect on the freedom of religion in Hong Kong, Tso said. Many Christians support judicial independence from China. Even though there is a difference in the way China and Hong Kong interpret Article 158, Tso said, Hong Kong might still be able to have a good influence on China in promoting democracy there as well. gI do not fully support the present capitalistic system, but there are still many good points in promoting democracy.h He explained that, during the LWF Assembly, gthe issue was too sensitive for Hong Kong Christians to deal with, but now there is no problem in talking about the issue. We now need to discuss how Hong Kong can accommodate the children: if Hong Kong has the responsibility to take care of them fully or not. If they come, how many schools will we need to construct; what will we do about housing?h
| More information:Interpretation and Amendment of the Basic Law |
| Next Article:China:China fights back over human rights |