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Betrayal in the air as Hong Kong marks handover

Hong Kong marks the 25th anniversary of the British handover to China as pro-democracy campaigners lament the erosion of the once-vibrant city’s freedom and rights.

Published: July 01, 2022 11:32 AM GMT

Updated: July 01, 2022 11:42 AM GMT

Hong Kong has marked the 25th anniversary of the British handover of the semi-autonomous city to China amid tight security in the presence of Chinese president Xi Jinping. 

In his speech, the communist leader said: “After weathering the storm, Hong Kong has been reborn of fire and has emerged with bubbling vitality.” This, however, sounded hollow to pro-democracy leaders, supporters and activists who lament the extreme erosion of the city’s democracy, freedom and rights guaranteed for at least 50 years under the “one country, two systems” framework.

Once dubbed one of the world’s freest cities, Hong Kong has become a shadow of its former self since Beijing imposed a draconian national security law to choke massive and often violent pro-democracy protests two years ago. Since then, dozens of pro-democracy leaders, supporters and activists have been arrested and jailed, while the free press has been nearly wiped out in the city of 7.4 million.

Critics say China has betrayed the promises it made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984.

Betrayal in the air as Hong Kong marks handover

China's President Xi Jinping waves following his speech after a ceremony to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China, in Hong Kong on July 1.  (Photo: AFP)

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Ferdinand Marcos Junior, the son and namesake of the infamous late dictator, was sworn in as the 17th president of the Philippines on Thursday.

Marcos succeeds authoritarian Rodrigo Duterte, who gained global notoriety for human rights violations including an anti-drug war that left thousands dead.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was sworn in as president of the Philippines in Manila on June 30. (Photo: AFP) 

Marcos won the presidential election by a landslide on May 9, some 36 years after his father was ousted in a public uprising and the family forced to flee the country. His victory shocked millions at home and abroad after Catholic clergy backed anti-corruption figurehead and Vice President Leni Robredo.

Marcos has promised national unity and an end to economic downturns after whitewashing the repressive legacy left by his father. 


The international community has called on Myanmar’s military junta to release all political prisoners after deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was moved to a prison from home last week.

The leaders of developed nations issued a statement urging the release of Myanmar’s political prisoners during the 48th G7 summit in Germany that ended on Tuesday. The group said the junta must also end the use of violence to suppress dissent, release those arrested arbitrarily and return the country to a democratic path.

A cordoned-off entrance with insignia for the National League for Democracy party is pictured near the house of detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon on June 23. (Photo: AFP)

Earlier, the UN, US, ASEAN and France raised concerns after the military junta moved 77-year-old Suu Kyi to solitary confinement in an undisclosed prison.  Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in the 2020 election, but the government was toppled in military coup in February last year.

The military has responded brutally to nationwide anti-coup protests, leaving nearly 2,100 people dead and 14,000 arrested.

Sri Lankan schools and other institutions including those run by the Catholic Church have closed their doors as the government decided to issue fuel only to essential services starting from Tuesday.

The decision has disrupted the lives of tens of thousands of schoolchildren and the public as the education system, private sector and many government agencies have been rendered inactive. Catholic school St. Joseph’s in Negombo has closed due to lack of fuel and transportation.

A security officer stands guard outside a fuel station that ran out of gasoline in Colombo on June 27. (Photo: AFP)

This comes after former trade minister Bandula Gunawardena said the limited stock of fuel available would be earmarked for health services, ports, essential food distribution, tourism and exports.

Sri Lanka is reeling from the worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948. Much of the national woes are attributed to the ruling Rajapaksa dynasty’s endemic corruption and mishandling of the economy including misuse of the country’s foreign exchange reserve. 


The Supreme Court of India has accepted a petition that seeks a direction to end rising attacks against Christians and their institutions. Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore in Karnataka state, the National Solidarity Forum and the Evangelical Fellowship of India filed the petition.

The petition comes as rights groups have documented 45 to 50 violent attacks on average against Christians in India each year. The petitioners also sought effective implementation of the top court’s order in 2018 that called on authorities to end hate crimes, cow vigilantism and mob lynching across the country.

Catholics pray during a Good Friday service at an East Delhi church on April 14, 2019. (Photo: Bijay Kumar Minj/UCA News)

Indian Christians and other minorities have experienced a sharp rise in violence from Hindu radicals since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the national election in 2014.

So far 10 BJP-ruled states have passed stringent anti-conversion laws, emboldening extremist groups who abuse and attack minorities over alleged religious conversions.


A Catholic group in Singapore has launched two special programs to bring “hope, healing and restoration” to divorcees in their personal and family lives.

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The Catholic Divorce Support Group, an affiliate of the Catholic Family Life Commission of Singapore Archdiocese, is running a 13-week program, "Surviving Divorce," from July 5 to October 4, while a three-day program, "Beginning Experience Weekend," is scheduled for September 9-11.

Singapore is experiencing a rise in divorce cases. (Photo: Unsplash)     

The group’s programs take inspiration from Pope Francis’ 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia on the Church’s teachings on pastoral care for families and marriage. The efforts come as Singapore has been experiencing a rise in divorce cases recently.

Official data shows the number of divorces rose by 2 percent in 2021 and family justice courts had a 4 percent rise in caseloads.


Catholics joined dozens of anti-human trafficking activists on Monday, to protest the recent acquittal of a Malaysian woman accused of murdering her Indonesian maid four years ago.

A Jesuit priest and several nuns were among the demonstrators in front of the Malaysian embassy in Indonesian capital Jakarta who termed the court judgment unfair and unacceptable. Last week Malaysia’s Federal Court upheld the rulings from the High Court and Appeal Court to acquit Ambika M.A. Shan of murdering Adelina Jemira Sau in Penang in 2018.

Jesuit Father Ignatius Ismartono (fourth from right, wearing a white face mask) joins nuns and anti-human trafficking activists in a protest held on June 27 in Jakarta to demand justice for Adelina Jemira Sau, an Indonesian maid who died in Malaysia four years ago. (Photo supplied)

Sau, then 21, died of multiple organ failure in a hospital. A day before her death, a migrant workers’ protection group rescued her from her employer’s home. She hailed from Indonesia’s predominantly Christian East Nusa Tenggara province.

The torture and death of Sau highlighted the scourge of abuse of migrant workers and human trafficking in Malaysia. Media outlets have reported many cases of Indonesian maids being subjected to overwork, poor payment and benefits as well as beatings and sexual assaults.  


Human trafficking in Timor-Leste has come under the spotlight after police arrested two foreigners on a charge of smuggling several women into the United Arab Emirates without proper documents.

The Timor-Leste Criminal and Scientific Investigation Police arrested two men from Bahrain and Sudan as they landed at Dili airport last Friday. They are accused of collaborating with three Timorese citizens arrested earlier in a human trafficking case. The arrestees are believed to a part of transnational trafficking syndicate who among other things are suspected of sending seven Timorese female workers to the UAE illegally.

Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta wants exploited migrant workers to be repatriated. (Photo: AFP)

Media reports have revealed the plight of female workers in Dubai, prompting government action. The victims said they have been forced to work from 9am to 9pm every day for a paltry monthly wage of 54 US dollars.

The women sought to return home, but their employer demanded 80,000 US dollars in compensation. The United States 2021 Trafficking in Persons report noted that traffickers continue to exploit domestic and foreign workers of Timor-Leste. 


Gwangju Archdiocese in South Korea has honored 20 Catholic families with four or more children during a special Mass to mark the closing of activities for the Year of Amoris Laetitia Family on Sunday.

The year-long programs celebrated Pope Francis’ famed apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which stresses the Church’s pastoral and spiritual care for marriage and family life. South Korea is experiencing an alarming decline in the fertility rate and a rise in its elderly population.

Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong of Gwangju with families and children after a Mass to mark the end of the Year of Amoris Laetitia Family on June 26. (Photo: CPBC)

In 2020, South Korea recorded the world’s lowest birth rate of 0.84, while in 2021 its population dropped by 0.18 percent or about 57,300. The present elderly population aged 65 and above is at 17.5 percent of 51.6 million people.

At the current pace, South Korea is expected to have 25.5 percent elderly people by 2030 and poised to become “a superaged society” like Japan and Italy.

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