LettersChinese communist leaders’ record inspires little faith Hong Kong religious freedoms will survive national security law

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends the Eucharistic celebration to mark the commencement of the ministry of Michael Yeung Ming-cheung as Bishop of Hong Kong, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on August 5, 2017. Photo: Edward Wong

Published: 8:00am, 30 May 2020Updated: 8:00am, 30 May 2020

Through various channels, I know some details about events in mainland China: last year’s banning of Christmas celebrations, the persecution of Uygurs in Xinjiang, tensions between Communist Party-approved Catholics and those more aligned with the Vatican, the forced removal of crosses from churches and the modifications of the 10 commandments demanded by the Communist Party.

Given this knowledge, it’s not difficult to imagine how much of a threat people such as the Dalai Lama or Hong Kong’s Joshua Wong must be to the party.

In Hong Kong, religious freedom is protected by both the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, but I am increasingly concerned that these concrete, written guarantees are meaningless to the Communist Party leaders, who rule by their own godless decree.

When the national security law was foisted upon the people of Hong Kong this week, there were claims it would only target “a small group of people”. So, should people of any religious denomination who choose to speak out against the party’s atrocious behaviour then become a target and a security threat?

Can Chief Executive Carrie Lam honestly and wholeheartedly guarantee that religious freedoms in Hong Kong will not be eroded by the Communist Party, or has she already sold her Catholic soul to Beijing?

I do not believe she or the city’s pro-Beijing lawmakers have any concerns about religious and other freedoms in the city after 2047, when the Joint Declaration is meant to expire.

N.K. Pearson, Tsuen Wan