Anglican Church leader Peter Koon (right) says Christians should not be in the forefront of the Occupy movement. Photo: HKEJ
Occupy leaders embarrassing to Christians, says Peter Koon
Christians should not lead the pro-democracy protest as taking on the role will embarrass the Church, said Peter Douglas Koon Ho-ming, provincial secretary general of the Hong Kong Anglican Church or Sheng Kung Hui.
The actions of the three leaders of the Occupy movement — Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, a Christian pastor, as well as Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Chan Kin-man, who are also Christians — give people the impression that Christianity is a radical religion, Koon told a local television station.
Protesters should put things back on track, he said, noting that prolonging the street occupation will push Hong Kong into a state of anarchy.
Meanwhile, Leung Kee-cheong, principal of the Fresh Fish Traders’ School, called on the pro-democracy protesters to end their campaign as they have already won.
Their voices have been heard, and there is no reason to drag the protest any longer, the Hong Kong Economic Journal quoted him as saying.
Leung also suggested that they celebrate in a carnival-like atmosphere to conclude their victorious campaign.
He said Occupy supporters will only lose hope if the campaign ends with police clearing the occupied streets. It’s time for the organizers to spread their democratic aspirations to the community.
To push their demand for true universal suffrage, the democracy activists should shift the focus of their campaign to the composition of the nominating committee that will select the candidates to the 2017 chief executive election, Leung said.
He said civil nomination is an impossible demand from the point of view of the central authorities, who worry that granting it would prompt other regions, such as Xinjiang and Tibet where there are active separatist movements, to follow suit.
Koon and Leung are both advisers to Our Hong Kong Foundation, a think tank recently established by former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa.
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