{"id":33545,"date":"2021-06-03T19:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T23:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/hong-kong-advocacy-organization-condemns-chinas-refusal-to-allow-commemoration-of-tiananmen-square-protests\/"},"modified":"2021-06-03T19:01:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T23:01:00","slug":"hong-kong-advocacy-organization-condemns-chinas-refusal-to-allow-commemoration-of-tiananmen-square-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/hong-kong-advocacy-organization-condemns-chinas-refusal-to-allow-commemoration-of-tiananmen-square-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong advocacy organization condemns China’s refusal to allow commemoration of Tiananmen Square protests"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cA Nobel Peace Prize to the movement’s imprisoned leaders…would create pressure for Beijing to step back on its repression in Hong Kong and elsewhere,\u201d Bork said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition, Bork said her organization intends to lobby against China\u2019s hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Beijing last hosted the Olympics in 2008.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[China\u2019s General Secretary] Xi Jinping will use the 2022 Winter Olympic games to bolster the Party\u2019s legitimacy at home and abroad,\u201d Bork said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Olympics should be relocated, and if necessary delayed \u2013 and Rep. Jim McGovern [D-MA] has made a strong case for this. At a minimum, the U.S. should coordinate with its allies in advance of the games to achieve the release of political prisoners throughout China.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to its actions in Hong Kong, China has garnered intense criticism for its treatment of the Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic group in the autonomous eastern region of Xinjiang. China has repeatedly conflated the Uyghurs\u2019 culture and religious activities with extremism and separatism, and has detained at least 1 million of them in \u201creeducation camps\u201d where they are subject to torture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Recent reporting from the New York Times chronicles dozens of allegations from Uyghur women who say they were pressured by officials to have abortions, be sterilized, or accept contraception.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hosting the Olympics is an honor, and \u201cshould not be used by an authoritarian regime to legitimize itself,\u201d Bork said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. Hong Kongers have, historically, largely enjoyed freedom of worship and evangelization, while in mainland China, there is a long history of persecution for Christians who run afoul of the government.<\/p>\n

Millions of citizens of Hong Kong, including many Catholics, have in recent years participated in large-scale pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which came to a head during summer 2019. Beijing has in recent years tightened control over the island territory and cracked down on dissent.<\/p>\n

During August 2020, several prominent democracy activists were arrested and charged, including Agnes Chow, a 23-year-old Catholic democracy activist. Chow has been outspoken in her support for civil rights in the former British colony.<\/p>\n

Also among those arrested in August was Jimmy Lai, a Catholic media executive who has supported the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement for the past 30 years. A band of nearly 200 police officers arrested Lai Aug. 10, along with at least nine others connected to Apple Daily, the newspaper Lai founded in 1995.<\/p>\n

(Story continues below)<\/b><\/p>\n

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Lai has supported the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement for over 30 years and has said that his Catholic faith is a major motivating factor in his pro-democracy advocacy. He has now been sentenced to serve 20 months in prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last month, Pope Francis appointed Fr. Stephen Chow Sau-yan, as Bishop of Hong Kong, after a vacancy of more than two years.<\/p>\n

The bishop-elect said at a press conference May 18 that whether or not he attends a public June 4 vigil \u201cdepends on the legal requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes in the past, I would go and really commemorate in the public arena, but there were times that I couldn\u2019t go, so I prayed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pray for China. I pray for all those who have passed in 1989.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Diocese of Hong Kong\u2019s Justice and Peace Commission has announced that the churches will each offer a Mass for the Dead on the night of June 4.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n