A group of about 50 theological students and professors, as well as some young Christians, worshipped near the Kong Fok Church of the Evangelical Free Church of China, before they marched to the church and handed in a letter of complaint about the pastor’s actions.
The group accused Daniel Ng Chung Man, the Kong Fok Church pastor, of siding with Chinese authorities to suppress those supporting greater democracy. They also complained the pastor was campaigning for voters in an upcoming special election in May “to cast blank votes.”
The pro-democratic camp is seen as being behind what has been dubbed a referendum triggered by the scheduled May 16 special election for Hong Kong’s legislative council to allow voters’ to reflect their views on possible universal suffrage in 2017.
However, the pro-Beijing camp among legislators is boycotting the election saying it is “unconstitutional”, while the government head Donald Tsang has said he will consider whether to vote in the poll.
During the April 18 worship service, Baptist University theology lecturer, Chan Sze-chi, criticized Ng, saying he had wrongly interpreted a statement in the Book of Romans, in the Bible’s New Testament by saying Christians should be submissive to the authorities. Chan said what should be obeyed is a competent authority.
Kung Lap-yan, another theology professor who preached at the service, commented that asking the faithful to be submissive is a violation of the first of the Ten Commandments (“You shall have no other Gods before me”), noting that the only true ruler is God.
A British colony that was returned to China in 1997 and is now a Special Administrative Region with autonomy, Hong Kong has not had universal suffrage either under the control of Britain or of Beijing.
