Beijing endorses HK campaign for Confucian holiday

A senior state official in charge of religious affairs yesterday indicated Beijing's first public support for a plan in Hong Kong to make Confucius' birthday a public holiday, saying the long-standing demand by Confucians should be realised as 'a natural development'.

But Qi Xiaofei, deputy director of the State Administration of Religious Affairs, dampened hopes for a campaign by leaders of Hong Kong Confucians to push for greater recognition of their religion on the mainland.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Taoist forum in Xian , Mr Qi said he was glad to hear that Confucians in Hong Kong might soon have a public holiday to celebrate their figurehead's birthday - on a par with Christians and Buddhists in the city. 'Of course, I am happy to see it happen,' he said. 'A public holiday for them would be a natural development.'

The Confucian Academy in Hong Kong, led by its president Tong Yun-kai, has been pushing for the plan, with the proposed construction of Hong Kong's first Confucian temple in Wong Tai Sin, for many years.

Last year, he quoted Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen as saying that he would not oppose the holiday plan as long as consensus was reached by other religious groups.

Both Catholics and Protestants have already indicated their acceptance that one public holiday at Easter could be swapped to commemorate the philosopher's birthday on the 27th day of the eighth month in the Lunar calendar.