In stark contrast to the jovial, festive mood of Christmas, Catholic and Anglican leaders have painted a depressing picture of Hong Kong society. Delivering their Christmas messages, they cautioned against the erosion of trust, love and care for the underprivileged and the substitution of truth by falsehood.
Anglican Archbishop Peter Kwong Kong-kit said society was on the verge of disintegration with trust becoming non-existent, and the strong allowed to prey on the weak.
In a separate address, Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese, hinted that failure to observe the principle of good governance by listening to the people sincerely was the cause of some recent controversies.
'The economic factor, nay, the short-sighted economic gain has become the only guide in policy-making, distribution of wealth was taken in apposition to creation of wealth, the gap between the rich and the poor dangerously widened. It's a shame; it's decadence in civilisation,' said Bishop Zen.
These words of wisdom could not have come at a better time as the city bids farewell to a year of emotions and paradox.
Take the Link real estate investment trust listing debacle, which speaks a lot about the danger of collapse of mutual trust at the individual and institutional levels.
The Housing Authority's privatisation plans for shopping and car-parking facilities have been branded as a sell-out of public assets cheaply and giving favours to multinational investors.
