Hong Kong was a British dependency in East Asia but is now a Special Administrative Region of China. It is strategically placed to have an impact, economically and spiritually, disproportionate to its tiny size.

Population

  • Population: 6,940,432 [UK: 60,609,153]
  • Density: 6661 per sq km [UK: 250 per sq km]
  • One of the world’s most densely populated regions
  • Majority ethnic Chinese

[Statistics: CIA World Factbook, 2006]

There has been rapid population change because of the changing political fortunes on the Mainland.

Chinese culture dominates in Hong Kong. However, as a port it has been influenced by other cultures and today, students returning from overseas universities may introduce cultural trends they feel will benefit Hong Kong.

Religions

  • Chinese/Buddhist 66.13%
  • Non-religious 18.25%
  • Christian 10.05%
  • Other 3.8%
  • Muslim 1.5%
  • Hindu 0.25%
  • Jewish 0.02%

[Statistics: Operation World]

Most people follow a version of Chinese folk religion combining elements of Buddhism, animism, Confucianism, Taoism and other beliefs. There are over 360 Taoist and Buddhist temples. Generally people follow these traditions as required by family.

Language

Cantonese is the mother tongue of the vast majority of the Chinese population. English is second in importance and Mandarin is third.

Geography

Hong Kong has a land area of only 1042 square km. There are three main regions: Hong Kong Island, the mainland Kowloon Peninsula, and the New Territories/Lantau Island. Much of Hong Kong is hilly and much of the low-lying terrain is reclaimed land. Only 28 per cent of the land is rural.

Climate

Although within the Tropics, Hong Kong has a subtropical climate because of the south-western monsoon, a moist, warm, equatorial wind that brings a rainy season between May and August.

The average annual temperature is 22°C, with a range from 10°C in February to 33°C in July. Typhoons occasionally cause great destruction.

History

Before the British occupation, Hong Kong had a small fishing community and was a haven for pirates and opium smugglers.

Because of its excellent natural harbour, Britain first used the island as a naval base during the Opium Wars with China. By the Treaty of Nanking [Nanjing] in 1842, which ended the First Opium War, Hong Kong Island was ceded to the British in perpetuity. Following a second conflict in 1860, Britain acquired Kowloon and in 1898 obtained the New Territories under a 99-year lease.

After Japanese occupation during the Second World War, Hong Kong swiftly regained its status as a major South-East Asian trade centre. Many thousands of Chinese took refuge in the colony before and after the 1949 Communist victory, providing labour, entrepreneurial skills and money. The resultant economic boom transformed Hong Kong into one of South-East Asia’s wealthiest and most productive areas, with a per capita GDP near to those of the four leading European economies.

In 1997 Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty. According to the agreement with China, the territory is allowed to maintain its legal, social and economic systems until 2047. In practice, most people expected these liberties to be ‘trimmed’ during first half of this century. However, this has not yet been the case. China is responsible for foreign affairs and defence.

Economy

Hong Kong was once famous for manufacturing but in recent years it has moved away from this towards services and processing exports from China. It is a banking and business centre.

In common with other East Asian countries, Hong Kong was hit by recession with the Asian financial crisis of 1998. It suffered further recession in 2001 and 2002 during global financial changes. In 2003 Hong Kong’s economy was affected by the Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak. The economy has revived with a tourism boom and a rise in exports.

Christianity in Hong Kong

Most denominations were present during Hong Kong’s early days, leaving European-style church buildings as their legacy. The majority of the 1000-plus congregations now meet in improvised accommodation, often two or more converted apartments. Land is at too much of a premium to be allocated for new churches.

1950-52 saw the great exodus of missionaries from China through Hong Kong. OMF set up an administrative office to handle these affairs. Some OMFers stayed to work amongst the many Chinese refugees. There were many other missions societies, so OMF focused on meeting the need for Christian literature by the formation of Christian Witness press. CWP later merged with the Sunday School Association to form Christian Communication Limited, now an independent company and major publisher of Christian literature throughout the Chinese-speaking world.

OMF later concentrated on evangelism, preaching and teaching, partnering with the churches. As new towns were constructed, OMF and the Chinese churches sought to evangelise the high-rise concrete jungle. OMF has also worked with blue-collar and underprivileged peoples in grassroots evangelism.

Christians are needed to work with young people and students, in theological education and in leadership training.

The Hong Kong Church today contains a mixture of nominalism, vitality, youth and fear of the future. Recently there has been an increased emphasis on united church intercession for Hong Kong, China and beyond. This has brought churches together in large evangelistic events and inter-church prayer meetings. OMF has sought to widen the vision of the Hong Kong Church and mobilise its members as missionaries. About 57 per cent of congregations now have a mission vision and active participation. Since 1997, much of this involvement has been outreach to the southern provinces of China.

Student ministries have also flourished recently, with about 30 per cent of university students professing a Christian faith.

OMF’s Strategic Priorities

  • Work with local churches developing new churches and para-church groups
  • Mission mobilisation
  • Church development through children's education and literature
  • Outreach to the many new arrivals from Mainland China.

Opportunities

  • Evangelism, teaching, training and counselling
  • Bible college lecturing
  • Professional ministry, including English teaching