Church leaders urge city to be more tolerant
Two church leaders have called in their Christmas messages for the community to be more loving and caring following a year marked by controversy over a drug-testing scheme in schools and relocation of a drug rehabilitation school.
Sheng Kung Hui primate Dr Paul Kwong called for more acceptance in the community and warned against the attitude of 'not in my backyard'. 'Hong Kong is a civilised and peaceful city respecting the rule of law,' he said. 'However, in recent years the attitude of rejecting and discriminating ... can be found everywhere.
'In particular, the not-in-my-backyard mentality has gradually spread out to the whole community. For example, the relocation of a school for correcting problematic students with drug addiction, building a centre for mental disease treatment and rehabilitation, and redevelopment of a school and social service centre have encountered opposition from the local community.'
Kwong was referring to Christian Zheng Sheng College, a private school that rehabilitates young drug users. The college has applied for the use of a vacant school in Mui Wo but is facing strong opposition from the local community.
Kwong said that although the Mui Wo community understood the facilities were important, some residents did not want them to be housed in their neighbourhood.
'We do understand the feelings of the residents concerned, because no one wishes to find that their neighbourhoods are thus affected,' he said. 'However, if there is no place to provide for such facilities, it definitely affects those who need such services.
'They would be traumatised by the feeling of being rejected and discriminated against.
'Of course, we understand it is not easy to accept and to embrace things or persons that we don't like. It requires us to tender extra efforts in order to change our mind because true love means sacrifice. Though it is not an easy task, it is very meaningful.'
In his Christmas message, the leader of the Catholic Diocese, Bishop John Tong Hon, spoke of the drug-testing programme that started in Tai Po schools this month.
'Recently, our government, out of solicitude for our young people, has started to implement a plan for testing for drugs in schools. In my response during an interview with the media, I made clear the perennial goals of Catholic education are to encourage young people to love and care for one another, and to inculcate them with a correct outlook on life.'
On July 31 Tong expressed his concerns about the scheme, saying that while the church supported the government's campaign against drugs, it had reservations about how the testing would be implemented.
