IT is most ironic - and unfortunate - that the plan by the Lutheran World Federation to host its assembly in the Special Administrative Region a week after it is established has run into trouble.
This would be the first time that the assembly, held once every seven years, is convened in Asia. The SAR, already the centre of attention worldwide at that time, would draw additional attention in the international religious community.
More importantly, it would be an golden opportunity for China and the SAR to demonstrate to the world that freedoms - of religion, and of broader lifestyles - would remain unchanged after the handover.
Participants in the assembly from around the world could tell the world, much of which is still sceptical of the fate of post-1997 Hong Kong, what the SAR will be like.
They could declare that it will be the same cosmopolitan city where people can gather to do business, attend conferences and exchange ideas.
An assembly of this kind is a vote of confidence from the international community that Hong Kong badly needs at its most sensitive and volatile period.