freedoms and harms church-run schools in the mainly Buddhist and Taoist territory, officials said Monday, December 12.
Catholic Bishop Joseph Zen, who leads an estimated 250,000 Catholics in Hong Kong, confirmed that he is seeking "to declare unconstitutional a law that weakens the control the church can exert on its many schools in Hong Kong."
A government education spokesman declined to comment on the issue.
Religious leaders fear the new law, which came into force in January, erodes their autonomy and damages religious freedom in the region. “We feel that this ordinance has complexly changed our way of running schools [in Hong Kong], which violates the [constitution],” the prelate said.
Under the new legislation, 40 percent of governors of a church school must be drawn from parents, teachers, alumni representatives and the community. Previously all governors were appointed by the supporting church.
HIGHEST COURT
Bishop Zen, an outspoken critic of the government and a leading voice of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lobby, said he will take the case to Hong Kong’s highest court should the current attempt to convince authorities fail.
While Hong Kong enjoys a special status within China, the central government has increasingly tried to crackdown on the spread of Christianity, human rights groups say.
Worship is only allowed within the official churches, but Christian rights group Open Doors said most of China’s estimated 80-million Christians gather in ‘underground’ house churches.
