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Nationality Act, who have discovered a sense of identity Chineseness, and who feel that this process will be furthered only in solidarity with China. This group is confident that China needs Hong Kong, and that China is therefore committed to preserving stability in Hong Kong, so that there will be no exodus of either capital or of technologically equipped people.
In both groups are people who urge that Hong Kong should now be organised politically, so that by 1997 the territory will have a political and administrative system strong enough to both command respect from the Chinese and also to resist manipulation or subversion from Beijing.
3.
An uncritical Welcome
I would imagine that in Hong Kong there are people who feel that any change from the present situation can only be an improvement, and who are therefore looking forward eagerly to the re-establishment of Chinese sovereignty, with or without an Agreement. It may be that in such changes they see the possibility of their own political advancement. The sociological makeup of the churches in Hong Kong is such that those who speak for them are not likely to be the victims of social deprivation, to reflect this opinion.
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I do not think it should be supposed that a positive response to the developments after 1997, as outlined in the Draft Agreement, is confined only to politically active people. Indeed some of the most politically active are those who have voiced the strongest reservations. The tenacity of Chinese culture and the power of a Chinese identity should not be underestimated. To be Chinese is to belong to a large family, one that is united as it has never been united before, and one that is pursuing a social experiment which has gone a long way towards eliminating poverty and deprivation within the family.
What should the churches do?
This is a question which I asked whenever I had the opportunity and it seemed to me that, once again, the answers fell into two categories.
The first set of answers seem to be based on the assumption that Hong Kong has only twelve years of freedom remaining to it.
In these twelve years the churches must do all in their power to deepen the spiritual awareness of their people, in terms of the interiorisation of their faith, and also deepen the understanding of their people in terms of imparting doctrine built on a firm biblical foundation, which will enable them to resist the intellectual and theoretical attacks which will be made on the Christian Faith.
At the same time, the churches must strengthen their own institutional structures, in case they are allowed to exist with some degree of freedom. There is, indeed, amongst some people, a euphoria about the Agreement, that the churches will be able to carry on as they always have, (which is what many churches obviously want, including sustaining their own separate confessional identities.) Before 1997, new church buildings must be completed, basic salary scales for pastors must be in place, retirement benefits such as pensions and retirement houses must be available. Of course these things are difficult to arrange for congregations which stress the absolute autonomy of the local congregation, which was the background out of which some of the strongest expressions of this particular line emerged. Following a different tactical line are those who advise the church to move away from a high public
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