RELIGION AND CUSTOM
Protestant Community
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The Protestant Community in Hong Kong, made up of over 200 000 members, meets in some 650 congregations representing the major traditions such as Anglican, Church of Christ in China, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Adventist, Alliance, Salvation Army and Pentecostal, as well as many smaller independent congregations.
In addition to offering spiritual counselling and operating religious and social welfare organisations, including the Hong Kong Christian Service, special centres and pro- grammes, Protestant groups are active in other fields. In the areas of education and health services, Protestants run 200 kindergartens, 175 primary schools, 120 secondary schools, three post-secondary colleges, three schools for the deaf, several for training the mentally handicapped, and 15 theological seminaries and Bible institutes. They operate five major hospitals, many clinics, and other health services.
Co-operative work is facilitated by two ecumenical organisations, the Chinese Christian Churches Union and the Hong Kong Christian Council. The former brings together over 200 congregations for its membership and carries out its work through departments of evangelism, Christian education, charities, cemeteries and information. The latter bases its membership on major denominations and ecumenical service bodies such as the Young Women's Christian Association, the Young Men's Christian Association. The Bible Society In Hong Kong and the Chinese Christian Literature Council.
The Christian Council is committed to building a closer relationship between all churches in Hong Kong as well as with churches overseas, and to stimulate local Christians to minister to the needs of the people in Hong Kong. It carries out its programmes through the Division of Mission, the Hong Kong Christian Service, the Communications Centre, the Christian Industrial Committee, and related service agencies including the United Christian Medical Service, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital and the Tao Fung Shan Ecumenical Centre. In June, the council began a new service entitled Alternative Tours giving visitors and residents an opportunity to see and experience grass roots care facilities and ways of life in Hong Kong.
The Protestant community continued to enjoy a good relationship with the churches in China through the Three Self Movement and the China Christian Council. On two occasions, representatives of the church in China visited Hong Kong on official good will and sharing tours. The exchange of publications and informal meetings also increased, with the Hong Kong Christian Council, for example, continuing to help organise visits by young Christians to Guangdong Province.
In the area of social concern, the Protestant community, through various committees, played an active role in arousing public interest in matters relating to labour legislation, industrial safety, price increases and other similar subjects. In ecumenical relations, the community sent participants to the Sixth Assembly of the World Council of Churches held in Vancouver, Canada, to indicate solidarity with churches or church councils particularly about hardship situations; it was also represented at the National Christian Council in Japan to express members' views on the textbooks issue.
More than HK$700,000 was raised through the Hong Kong Christian Council's ninth annual fund raising campaign, entitled Five Loaves and Two Fish, to provide world-wide emergency aid for the hungry in Asia and Africa.
Muslim Community
There are about 30 000 followers of Islam in Hong Kong. The majority are Chinese, with the rest from Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East. During 1983, they gathered for prayers at the Shelley Street Mosque and at the Masjid Ammar on Hong Kong