“Saving Our City”: Christian Perspectives on Mediating Controversies and Conflicts in the Anti-extradition Movement in Hong Kong

Abstract

The anti-extradition movement has already persisted in Hong Kong since early June 2019. There have been frequent violent confrontations between the protesters and the police in public spaces. Nevertheless, divisions and arguments between Christians who support the protesters and those who strictly disagree with violence are emerging. Many Christian churches and the ministers in Hong Kong, a group of people used to be seen by others as politically conservative or even apathetic, have become more vocal and physically active in this movement, such as providing on-site support to the protesters, particularly those youngsters who are arrested by police. On the other hand, a substantial number of Christians rejects proactive social actions and disagrees with taking a tough stance against the administration. But at the end, Christians across different political spectrums are all striking for restoration of a just and peaceful Hong Kong. This paper adopts a discourse analysis approach to examine different stances and arguments amongst Hong Kong churches and Christians over theologies and approaches in conflict mediations and resolving controversies, including a thorough review of the documents, news reports and social media contents related to church activities in the movement. In-depth interviews will also be conducted with the church leaders and Christians involved to understand their rationales in resolving the conflicts between the government and the people, and also between Christians. Detailed analyses and recommendations will be focusing on the possible approaches that churches and Christians could take in resolving these conflicts.



Author Information
Yee Chun Sincere Tung, Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service, Hong Kong
Vincent W.P. Lee, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Paper Information
Conference: ACERP2020
Stream: Interdisciplinary - Conflict Resolution and Mediation Studies

The full paper is not available for this title


Virtual Presentation


Comments & Feedback

Place a comment using your LinkedIn profile

Comments

Share on activity feed

Powered by WP LinkPress

Share this Research

Posted by James Alexander Gordon