07/07/2022 Hong Kong (International Christian Concern) – During a recent visit, an unofficial Vatican representative in Hong Kong met with Catholic missionaries to warn them to prepare for a tougher future. China is tightening its control over Hong Kong, meaning that restrictions on religion are getting more and more intense.
Monsignor Javier Herrara-Corona, a prelate, urged missionaries to take the necessary measures to protect the property, files, and funds of their missions. Monsignor Corona told his colleagues that “the freedoms they had enjoyed for decades were over.”
The city had a high degree of autonomy following the 1997 British handover, enjoying freedom under the “one country, two systems’ framework. However, that changed when Beijing imposed a draconian national security law in 2020 following massive antigovernmental protests.
Many pro-democracy politicians and activists, including prominent Catholic figures, have been arrested and jailed. Many have fled the city and relocated to other countries, including Taiwan, to avoid imprisonment.
The freedom that foreign missionary groups had previously enjoyed in the city is being reduced daily.
Please pray for those doing missionary work in Hong Kong.
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