1.1 Globalisation
1.1.1 Hong Kong People’s Alliance on World Trade Organisation

The sixth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was held in Hong Kong in December 2005. The Hong Kong People’s Alliance on WTO (HKPA), consisting of local and regional non-governmental organizations (NGOs), was formed to protest against the policies of the WTO. The HKPA coordinated a number of seminars and marches during the week of the WTO meetings in Hong Kong. HKCI participated in many of these activities as well as made the preparations for the cultural night.

During the week of the WTO meetings, the Hong Kong police unreasonably detained more than 1,000 anti-WTO foreign demonstrators and prosecuted 14 of them. HKCI, together with other NGOs, immediately launched a series of actions to support the demonstrators, such as hunger strikes, candlelight vigils, a rally outside of the court and fund-raising, etc. After the WTO meeting, the Alliance to Monitor Globalisation was formed. HKCI took part as one of the members of an education task group and organised a workshop about neo-liberalism.

HKCI was also involved in various local actions that were related to globalisation issues, including the anti-Disney protest and anti-privatisation rally, etc.

1.1.2 Hong Kong Christian Alliance Concerning Globalisation

Through the collaborative efforts of a number of Christian organisations and sponsored by Oxfam Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Christian Alliance Concerning Globalisation was established. The aim of the alliance is to study and examine the impact of globalisation on Hong Kong and to encourage Christians to become more involved with globalisation issues. A 10-month project, namely, Promoting an Inclusive Globalisation Movement in Christian Circles, was launched. It involved a series of programmes and actions undertaken during the project that included educational workshops for youth, seminars, prayer meetings and the publication of leaflets. Workshops were also conducted in churches to stimulate Christians to understand and reflect on globalisation and its relationship to our faith as well as to look for alternatives.

In the above project, HKCI recruited 17 Christian members who participated in a number of activities during the week of the WTO meetings. The members also designed educational and programme materials for group meetings and fellowship gatherings that were conducted in churches, schools and social service agencies. They shared their experiences in different settings for educational purposes. To benefit more people, they also posted their educational materials and reflections on the internet.

Trade with justice was also a concern of the alliance, which organised a territory-wide prayer meeting whose theme was “Trade with Justice and the Global Sharing of Love” and the seminar World Trade and Violence.

1.2 Democratic Development and People’s Livelihood

In response to people’s aspirations for a more democratic political system in Hong Kong, the government launched a political reform proposal through The Fifth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force (The Fifth Report) to address in particular the elections of the chief executive and legislative councillors in 2007 and 2008 respectively. As one of the members of civil society, HKCI has been actively involved in the community’s democratic development.

1.2.1 Civil Human Rights Front

        The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), set up in 2002, served as an important platform for local organisations’ participation and cooperation in civil society. CHRF regarded The Fifth Report as a “bird in a cage,” a deficient reform initiative for the democratic development of Hong Kong. CHRF collaborated with legislative councillors who supported more progressive democratic development and organised a rally and candlelight vigil on Dec. 4 and 21, 2005, respectively. More than 200,000 people participated in both events. The Fifth Report was not passed in the Legislative Council (Legco ) as more than 20 legislators opposed the report.

        In 2005, CHRF used the theme “Equality and Justice, Universal Suffrage for Democratic Election in the Future” for the July 1 rally. Youth and labour groups took the lead in the rally in order to raise public concern about their problems and the lack of labour protection in Hong Kong, such as a minimum wage and reasonable working hours. There were 58,000 participants in the rally.

        CHRF also organised a series of actions to protest Hong Kong Electric’s increase of electricity fees in March.

        Based on its commitment to the protection of human rights, CHRF had regular meetings with government officials to raise concerns and opinions on human rights issues. The anti-racial discrimination legislation was one of the issues CHRF followed closely. CHRF expressed its opposition and disappointment to the government for delaying the legislative process on this bill due to resistance to the proposed law from the business sector and some government departments.

1.2.2 Christian Community

        In response to The Fifth Report, a number of groups from the Christian community organised a series of actions to assert Christians’ and pastors’ views and position on this political reform proposal to society and the government. The actions were organised in the form of a signature campaign, press conferences, seminars and prayer meetings. With regards to the arrangement of elections within the Protestant churches to choose representatives for the religious subsector of the Election Committee that will select the chief executive, HKCI and other Christian organisations held meetings with the Hong Kong Christian Council (HKCC) and expressed our opposition to Christian participation in this undemocratic electoral system.

        Prior to the July 1 rally, the Christian community once again held a prayer gathering whose theme in 2006 was “Live with Justice and Strike for Democracy.”

        HKCI has also been operating an internet radio programme, The Human Ways and Kingdom of God, on every other Wednesday since June. Different groups of people marginalised by society have been invited to share their “blood-and-flesh” experiences in the programmes to help Christians understand the struggles of these people  in Hong Kong and to reflect theologically on the issues that they raise.

1.2.3 Civil Alliance for Minimum Wage

        Influenced by neo-liberalism, the wage system in Hong Kong is highly problematic. The Civil Alliance for a Minimum Wage was established through the efforts of HKCI and 20 other local NGOs. The aims of the alliance are: (a) enact minimum wage legislation and oppose the replacement of such legislation by a token “charter” (b) promote the extension of minimum wage legislation to all workers, not just those in one or two industries; and (c) support a minimum wage that is no less than HK$30 (US$3.85) per hour. The alliance will continue to launch a series of actions to fight for the implementation of a minimum wage to protect workers in Hong Kong.

1.3 Walking with Marginalised Groups

Entering Hong Kong’s marginalised communities and becoming immersed in their lives and concerns is a calling from God. Therefore, HKCI worked closely with a variety of marginalised groups last year. As part of its solidarity with these marginalised communities, HKCI publicly called on the government and society to treat these members of society fairly.

1.3.1 Victims of Domestic Violence

The problem of domestic violence has escalated since the tragic murder of a wife and her two children by her husband in Tin Shui Wai in 2004. HKCI submitted a proposal on the prevention of domestic violence to the Legco Welfare Panel during a meeting to discuss this issue on July 31, 2006. HKCI also produced a faith statement to assert our position and concern on domestic violence. This statement served as a reference for the relevant government departments, the public and the Christian community.

1.3.2 The New Immigrants

Since the implementation of the new population policy in 2003, the welfare benefits of new immigrants have been gradually cut. The new immigrants who stay in Hong Kong less than seven years are not eligible for any social welfare benefits. On July 19, a meeting was held with the Social Welfare Committee’s Working Group on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Review. During the review process, HKCI organised sessions for discussion and sharing with the new immigrants. The discussion materials were later compiled by HKCI as a paper to assert our position on this issue to the government, a stance that is against the cut of welfare benefits to new immigrants as such a move is in opposition to the spirit of the Social Welfare Committee’s new population policy and social welfare in general. HKCI suggested a population policy that was more supportive of new immigrants and which could facilitate their development in Hong Kong so that they could contribute their talents to the community in the long term.

1.3.3 People with Different Sexual Orientations

A parade to echo the International Day against Homophobia (IDAHO) was held for the second time in Hong Kong on May 21. HKCI, the Blessed Minority Christian Fellowship and the Spiritual Seekers Society were invited by the organising committee to jointly hold a religious ritual to bless the homosexuals before the parade.

       In addition, HKCI collaborated with three sexual minority groups to launch a survey to study the equal rights of sexual minorities in Hong Kong. In this survey, the discrimination suffered in the daily life of homosexuals was reviewed. Cases of discrimination were documented for discussion and follow-up research. After the research was completed, the book The Truth that We See: A Report on the Equal Rights of Homosexuals in Hong Kong was published with 5,000 copies produced for distribution to churches, universities, youth organisations and local NGOs. It is hoped that the research and the book are able to review and reflect on the genuine need for legislation to protect the equal civil rights of homosexuals during the debate on anti-discrimination legislation regarding sexual orientation.

1.4   Global Citizens with Concern for the World

Apart from local social issues, HKCI was also concerned about human rights issues in other parts of the world, such as human rights violations committed by the United States and Israel, the extrajudicial killing of chur ch workers and members of other social sectors in the Philippines and the denial of rights to asylum-seekers detained in Hong Kong.