Vietnamese bishop: Plan for charity this Lunar New Year

Hong Kong, China, Jul 2, 2018 / 05:29 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Catholic Church in Hong Kong is called to speak out in case of injustices, but it does not compete with the government, the bishop of the Chinese territory told CNA on the occasion of his ad limina visit to Rome.

Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung was making an ad limina visit along with the Bishop of Macau; the two territories are former British and Portuguese dependencies which are now part of the People’s Republic of China.

As a special administrative region, Hong Kong has a large degree of autonomy from mainland China, with its own political and economic system. The territory was a British colony from 1842 until 1997.

The bishops met with Pope Francis June 23, at the end of a week filled with meetings at Vatican offices, including a two-hour-long meeting with the Secretariat of State.

Bishop Yeung, who succeeded as Bishop of Hong Kong in August 2017, said that Hong Kong can have an influence on the Chinese way of life, as “Hong Kong is called to participate in China’s modernization, and not only from the political-economic point of view. The development of the country is not merely based on the economy.”

He added that the Catholic Church “mustn’t compete with the communist party for power and authority in this world. The Lord Jesus never told the disciples to compete with the Roman empire.”

Bishop Yeung underscored that “the Church has, however, her role to play. She is called to have a good attitude to dialogue, and at the same time she is called to tell the truth, and to speak out against social injustice, when the latter happens.”

The relation with the Church in mainland China is described by Bishop Yeung as “delicate.”

He explained that “the Chinese authorities’ message is that they do not want any interference in mainland China, and the most recent bill on foreign NGOs goes in that direction: everything must be approved by the government, and the government has the right to know whence the money comes.”

According to the law, foreign NGOs must register with the Ministry of Public Security or its provincial-level equivalents before establishing an office within mainland China.

The law paralleled increasing government regulations in many areas of public life.

The law affects aid that Hongkongers might send to mainland China, as “no one has certainty that the money arrives to its destination, and even a mere money transfer is considered a possible interference,” Bishop Yeung said.

Speaking about the long-rumored, potential Holy See – China deal, Bishop Yeung said that “the Church has a very clear role: she does not compete with the government; she is called to speak out when there are injustices.”

He added that “we understand that the Holy See is entertaining a dialogue with the government in Beijing, and it is normal that there are also people against this. We trust in our Lord. Fifty years ago, the door between the Vatican and Beijing was shut, and now we are struggling to find a very narrow opening.”

Bishop Yeung concluded that he does not know “where the agreement will take us,” but he believes that “God will take us on the right way. There have been mistakes, and perhaps there will be others. We are human. But our Lord will guide us.”

Bishop Yeung said that one of the topics of discussion with Vatican officials during the ad limina was the potential registration of a Catholic university of Hong Kong.

At the moment, the Caritas Institute for Higher Education has been established, and counts some 2,000 students. In 2014, it was announced that the school aims to be recognized as a university by education officials within five years.

Once the recognition will be finalized, it will be named “St. Francis University.”

According to Bishop Yeung, the Chinese government has an interest in accrediting a Catholic university in Hong Kong because of the “one country, two systems” principle which articulates the autonomous relationship between the territory and mainland China.

“We can have our way of doing things,” the bishop explained. “I think Hong Kong can be very important for China, as it is its open window to the world. If the central government were to shut down everything in Hong Kong, it would prove that the principle ‘one country, two systems’ cannot work.”

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Pope Francis stands beside Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh in Sukhbaatar Square in front of the State Palace in Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 2, 2023. / Vatican Media

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Sep 1, 2023 / 21:50 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis called Mon… […]

CNA Staff, Oct 17, 2020 / 06:01 am (CNA).- United Nations officials in Burma said Wednesday that earlier this month, two boys were killed amid crossfire between the Tatmadaw, the country’s military, and the Arakan Army, an ethnic Buddhist separatist group.

The UN Country Taskforce on Monitoring and Reporting on Grave Violations against Children in Myanmar said Oct. 14 that on Oct. 5 “two boys were killed in Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, in crossfire between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army. This occurred after the children, as part of a group of 15 local farmers, were alleged to all have been forced to walk in front of a Tatmadaw unit to ensure the path towards a military camp was clear of landmines and to protect the soldiers from potential enemy fire.”

“On the way, fighting broke out between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army, after which the two boys were found dead with gunshot wounds.”

The Tatmadaw had been censured internationaly the for the recruitment of minors, but had been delisted within the last year.

“We call for a full, transparent, and expedited  investigation of the incident and for anyone responsible for the use and for the killing of the children to be held accountable,” the CTFMR stated.

The taskforce added, “We are also deeply concerned about the alarming increase of reports of killings and injuries of children in Myanmar. More than 100 children were killed or maimed in conflict during the first three months of 2020, amounting to more than half of the total number in 2019, and significantly surpassing the total number of child casualties in 2018.”

The Tatmadaw have been fighting the Arakan Army since at least 2018.

The Arakan Army wants self-determination for the Rakhine people, a Buddhist ethnic group who live largely in Rakhine state and who constitute as much as 6 percent of Burma’s population.

In April Pyae Sone Win Maung was killed while driving a UN vehicle in Rakhine state. He was collecting Covid-19 samples for the World Health Organization. Both the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army denied involvement.

In October 2019, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon lamented that “not a single day passes without the heart wrenching news of innocent civilians being displaced or killed or maimed by the ongoing conflict in Lashio, other Northern regions and Rakhine State.”

Beginning in late 2016 the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group who have mostly occupied Rakhine state, faced a sharp increase in state-sponsored violence in their homeland. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, and the military has been accused of conducting numerous human violations such as rape and murder.

Despite widespread use of the word Rohingya in the international community, the term is controversial within Burma. The Burmese government refuses to use the term, and considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. They have been denied citizenship and numerous other rights since a controversial law was enacted in 1982.

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