Source: www.persecution.org
Date: January 26, 2024
Hong Kong (International Christian Concern) — In another blow to the rule of law and democracy, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee said this week that foreign actors and pro-democracy groups drove the 2019 pro-democracy movement.
Lee called groups like Amnesty International and Greenpeace ‘hostile foreign forces’ who destroyed the peace and security in Hong Kong. Lee’s statements are part of the new intensified national security laws under Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law that, among other things, give law enforcement agencies greater flexibility and power, and few restrictions on how they enforce the law according to Australian-based democracy advocate Ted Hui.
This again highlights the growing influence of the Chinese Communist Party in Hong Kong affairs. These statements also follow recent damages to the rule of law in Hong Kong with the ongoing trial of Christian billionaire Jimmy Lai and the controversy surrounding the city’s Court of Final Appeal overturning the acquittal of pro-democracy and human rights activist Chow Hang-tung. These developments again decline in freedoms, rule of law and democracy in Hong Kong.
HOW TO PRAY: Pray for the lost throughout China to come to know Christ. Pray for strength and provision for Christian groups in the region. Pray for greater religious freedom in China.