Open Letter to the Ecumenical Community of Burma

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2 March 2021

“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” - Amos 5:24

As sisters and brothers in Christ, we have watched with increasing alarm the violent crackdown by the military against peaceful protesters in Burma after the February 1 coup. We are particularly concerned by the fatal shooting of demonstrators, the illegal arrests of people in the middle of the night, and the disruption of information by blocking people's access to the internet.

Conversely, we are inspired by the courage of Burma's people throughout the country to continue to join massive demonstrations, to take part in the nightly "pots and pans" campaign, and to leave their shops and offices to participate in a general strike.

As people of faith, we believe that God sees and hears the injustice, the abuse of power, the denial of the dignity of life of God's people in Burma. While the military may believe they are all powerful and control the country today as they have for almost six decades, we believe, like the prophet Amos, that eventually "justice [will] roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." On that day, God and the people of Burma will rejoice and smile again.

In these dark times of uncertainty, however, we know that God is with you, and we know that we are with you as well as so many others throughout the world. We pray for your liberation, and we have begun to put our prayers into action by sending a letter to the consulate of your country in Hong Kong condemning the coup and the military's violent response against people peacefully expressing their views. Moreover, we stand ready to take further actions so that our prayers will bear fruit for your freedom.

In closing, we wish to state again that we are watching developments in your country; the world is watching, and God is watching. You are not alone in your quest for freedom, for justice, for dignity.

With Peace, Love, and Solidarity,

Rev. Phyllis Wong
Minister-in-charge

Hope Antone
Council Chairperson

Position Statement on Harassment

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Belief

As Christians we believe that every human being is created in the image of God, and as a Christian community, members of our congregation must endeavor to create an environment of safety and trust, in which the dignity and worth of all human beings is affirmed.

This is consistent with the KUC Constitution, which says that:

In obedience to the Holy Spirit, the purpose of KUC shall be to gather people of different traditions and cultures in the worship of the triune God, to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to nurture believers in the Christian faith, to engage in mission, to respond to human need and to work for justice and peace for all.

Harassment is a violation of human dignity. No one should be subjected to any form of harassment. Anyone can say no to it and take action to stop harassment. Anyone has the right to make a complaint.

The church will take all possible actions to prevent it from happening and to address the problem once identified.

The church is committed to promote the consciousness of justice, fairness, sincerity and openness in respect of gender equality and mutual respect. It is also committed to raising the awareness of the need to eliminate and prevent harassment through education and public awareness.

The church is committed to provide a safe environment for all people to worship, grow in faith and serve in God. When harassment occurs, the church will do its best to provide the complainant, the accused and their respective families with appropriate referral services or corresponding counseling and pastoral support.

Definitions

In general, the following are definitions of harassment:

Harassment is any form of unwelcome, unsolicited or unreciprocated behaviour that denigrates someone, offends them, or humiliates them on the grounds of their race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, disability or other background or identity. Harassment creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment that causes people to suffer or negatively affects them.

The Hong Kong legislature has passed three ordinances that may be relevant to the issue of harassment, namely: Cap. 480 Sex Discrimination Ordinance; Cap. 487 Disability Discrimination Ordinance; and Cap. 620 Race Discrimination Ordinance.

The Ordinances are applicable to areas such as employment and the provision of service. A person shall be liable for one’s unlawful action, and through civil proceedings, the KUC Council is liable for the unlawful action of its employees and any of its authorized agents. Furthermore, each Ordinance has provisions detailing examples or cases in which a person may experience harassment.

Our responsibility as a church

Elements of oppression/harassment based on gender, race, and other social categories exist; but as a Christian community, we must strive to overcome these within our midst, and also to be the salt and light of the earth—being a part of struggles in the wider community to eliminate these, wherever we find them.

Staff, church leaders and members are encouraged to attend workshops and training with a gender-based understanding on harassment, especially sexual harassment, and its prevention.   

To further the church-wide effort, KUC offers the following documents to guide our aim to end and prevent harassment:

1. Guidelines to Respond to Harassment

2. Educational materials to raise awareness and understanding on various forms of harassment (see the appendix)

For anyone wishing to make a complaint, they should contact the minister-in-charge and/or the council chairperson as outlined in the KUC Guidelines to Respond to Harassment.

Promote Life, Not Death, in the Philippines

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The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic nation, a predominantly Christian nation. The Christian faith calls its followers to respect life, to nurture life; the Christian faith holds life to be sacred. Other faiths in the Philippines, such as Islam and the spirituality of indigenous people, affirm the same values. Thus, why are there so many killings in the Philippines, especially extrajudicial killings by state forces? Does the government not respect the lives of its own people? Are the leaders of the Philippine government not Catholics, not Christians? Where is their faith?

In this climate of death over the years, we are thus saddened by the recent news of 15 community leaders and a lawyer killed on Negros Island in the span of just five days between July 23 and 28. They join the list of 14 peasants killed on Negros on March 30 this year as well as others. Moreover, we are saddened by the extrajudicial killing of a church leader, the Rev. Ernesto Estrella of the United Church of the Philippines (UCCP), on August 2 in North Cotabato Province on the island of Mindanao. Other recent victims include Alex Lacay and Jeffrey Bayot, Lumad farmers, on August 9 and August 11, respectively, in Bukidnon Province.

What do these victims have in common? Most of them were poor; most of them sought to serve their communities; most of them raised their voices to uphold their rights and the rights of others. Is it a crime in the Philippines to be poor, to serve one’s community, to seek the rights that every person has because they are a human being and a child of God?

These deaths also have another common denominator: no one is arrested. Thus, while it is apparently a crime in the Philippines to be poor, to serve one’s community and to seek to uphold one’s rights, it is apparently not a crime in the Philippines to kill another human being.

To indicate its willingness to stop these senseless killings, we as people of faith in Hong Kong call upon the Philippine government to invite members of the international community—specifically the relevant special rapporteurs of the U.N. human rights system—to visit the Philippines to investigate these killings. If the government has nothing to hide, it should be willing to support and cooperate with the international community to stop these killings of the Filipino people.

It is because we treasure the life of all people that we call upon the Philippine government to ensure the arrest of the perpetrators of these heinous crimes, to proclaim to the world that justice is still alive in the Philippines, that life still has value in this predominantly Christian nation. The role of the Philippine government is to serve its people, to protect its people, not to kill its people.

As people of faith in Hong Kong, we express our love and compassion for the victims of this violence and their families, and we add our solidarity with others around the world for the church leaders and activists who are struggling for human rights, for justice and for the dignity of their people.

We Support the Renewed Peace Process in the Philippines

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Solidarity of Kowloon Union Church for the Filipino People. Calling for a Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."(Matthew 5:9)

We, members of Kowloon Union Church in Hong Kong, express our solidarity with our sisters and brothers in the Philippines who are now calling for a just and lasting peace in their country.

It is within this call that we express our support for the renewed peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

Two rounds of talks between the two parties have already taken place this year with the aim of resuming the peace talks—one in June and another in August. In the August talks, both parties have reaffirmed previously signed agreements, such as the Hague Joint Declaration, the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), among others.

Both have also agreed to complete remaining substantive agenda for the talks, namely, (a) socio-economic reforms; (b) political and constitutional reforms; and (c) end of hostilities and disposition of forces.

We are very happy that they are both working together in addressing and finding solutions to the root causes of the ongoing conflict in the Philippines. For many years until the present, we have learned of extrajudicial killings and the massive displacement of people, especially the poor and marginalized sectors, not to mention the worsening of poverty and the lack of social justice in the country.

Should this peace process become successful, it will be the people of the Philippines who will greatly benefit. Human rights at all levels will be respected and protected; people’s interests over the interests of the few will be upheld; and justice, sovereignty and prosperity for the people and nation will be strived for.

May both parties steadfastly pursue this peace negotiation, hold true to their word and not veer from the path towards a just and lasting peace in the Philippines. The Kowloon Union Church supports this call for peace in the Philippines as part of our Christian commitment to transform our prayers into acts of compassion and acts for justice for all.

Rev. Phyllis Wong
Minister-in-Charge

Dialogue Must Replace Violence

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Kowloon Union Church (KUC), an international and ecumenical church with members from 20 countries, expresses its admiration for the courage, persistence and creativity of the university and high school students and others in the community who have been taking part in the continuous and ongoing demonstrations for the democratic development of Hong Kong. Whether the protesters are Christians or not, they have exhibited the Christian value of giving oneself for the sake of others. In this case, it is not only for the sake of other individuals but for the common good of Hong Kong.

We are similarly moved by those in the community who have selflessly given food, water, first aid, etc., to support the demonstrators in numerous ways. Again, whether they are Christians or not, they have offered their care and compassion for others, especially others who are under great stress and who are feeling fear, are anxious and vulnerable. It is these acts of solidarity that bind us together as one community.

We have witnessed the peaceful approach of the protestors who wish to express their desire for genuine universal suffrage and their dissatisfaction with the recent proposal of the Chinese and Hong Kong governments for political reform in our city, on one hand, and the violent reaction of the police, on the other, who have responded with tear gas and pepper spray to people’s discontent. Many people have asked the simple question: Why? Why are the police—Hong Kong people—attacking Hong Kong people?

As a community of faith, we call upon the Hong Kong government to stop using violence to suppress the people who are protesting peacefully to express their views on Hong Kong’s democratic development. It is the responsibility of the government to protect her people, uphold human rights and respect people’s human dignity.

We, as citizens of Hong Kong, support universal suffrage based on one person, one vote, but the participation of voters in choosing their leaders is a hollow electoral exercise if competition to choose and nominate candidates is limited and restricted. A leader chosen under the proposed political system may be welcome by the Chinese government, but it will result in a weak Hong Kong government that lacks legitimacy in the eyes of Hong Kong’s people and will be able to achieve little to better the lives of the citizens of the community.

To resolve the current impasse over political reform, the Chinese and Hong Kong governments will have to genuinely listen to the people of Hong Kong and engage in meaningful dialogue with them. Achieving this aim will require courage, persistence and creativity—qualities that are now being lived out on the streets of Hong Kong.

We pray that the spirit of love and peace will guide the people and the government in Hong Kong. May God bless Hong Kong with wisdom and with peace.

(Contact Person: Mr. Bruce Van Voorhis - 9492-3064, Rev. Phyllis Wong - 9369-3565)

General Statement

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Kowloon Union Church is an independent congregation, striving to live and work within the faith and unity of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. We are grateful to belong to the Hong Kong Christian Council, and we cherish our links with other ecumenical organizations like the Christian Conference of Asia and the World Council of Churches.

We share the theology and tradition of Protestant faith. Although we do not subscribe to a particular set of confession or creed, our Mission Statement reflects what we believe, for the Bible reminds us that faith without action is dead (James 2:17).

Mission Statement

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The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free. Luke 4:18

Kowloon Union Church is a Community of Believers. The church unites in fellowship Christians of differing traditions and nationalities to be renewed and empowered by the Spirit through our worship and service in the name of God and Jesus Christ.

Kowloon Union Church is a Prophetic Church. The church undertakes our responsibilities as members of society who take seriously the realities around us. As a community of faith grounded on Christ’s ministry of love, justice and respect for human and natural life, we speak and act to promote the justice and life of God’s Kingdom, which contravenes injustice and degradation of life.

Kowloon Union Church is a Servant Church. The church understands our mission to be both toward our members and toward the larger community of Hong Kong and Asia. We view this dual mission, not as a static role, but as a living role that grows and is transformed according to the changing needs of our community and the region.

Kowloon Union Church seeks to empower and enrich our faith community by planting and nurturing the seeds of the Holy Spirit for Christians of all ages, as we witness to the redeeming power of God’s love and grace.

We will strive to provide a hospitable worship environment for members and visitors by being conscious of the various gifts and needs of different cultural groups.

We will also seek to strengthen the bonds of fellowship in Hong Kong by expanding our relationship with other churches in the community, as well as by engaging in dialogue with people of other faiths and building relationships with them.

Kowloon Union Church endeavors to stand with those who are vulnerable in society and to care for all Creation. The church seeks to empower and serve the marginalized people of Hong Kong—our primary arena of mission—as well as others in Asia. We complement our empowerment of others by also sending our members out into today’s world to do the work of Christ in our homes and workplaces to the best of our ability.

As a faith community, we are committed to transforming our prayers into acts of compassion and acts for justice for all.

(Revised & adopted in November 2014)