Tsang urges young drug addicts to read Bible
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has urged young drug addicts to read the Bible to find peace of mind and encouragement in the face of adversity.
Mr Tsang, a devoted Christian, wrote in his weblog of his experiences meeting a group of young drug abusers during a recent visit to a rehabilitation centre on Green Island, off the northwestern tip of Hong Kong Island.
Run by the Wu Oi Christian Centre, the centre adopts the so-called Christian approach to getting young addicts to quit drugs - teaching them the Bible and preaching to them.
'I appreciate this Christian approach much. I believe if one is determined to change after one is touched, this kind of change will be thorough,' said Mr Tsang in his blog entry under the title 'Light in a Sea of Drugs'.
He wrote that he was pleased that, of the young addicts who undergo the one-year rehabilitation programme on Green Island, 60 per cent do not take drugs again within two years of completing it.
'I also had a sharing session with [the young drug abusers]. Everybody encounters difficulties that are hard to overcome,' the chief executive said. 'I encouraged them to read the Bible because God's words can always bring us encouragement and peace.'
He said he paid much attention to youth issues because Hong Kong's young people were its hope for the future.
'I feel heartbroken when I see young people lose their health, education, jobs or family because of the impact of drug addiction,' he said.
The drug rehabilitation centre began operations seven years ago in the former Green Island lighthouse compound.
The compound was declared a monument last month after 100 years' service lighting the western approaches to Victoria Harbour.
