Sing hallelujah to the Lord

More information here: "How a worship song is fueling pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong".

Some stray thoughts:

1. This is inspiring to see and hear. A little light defiant in the darkness. Hong Kong denizens including Christians are encircled by the tendrils of a totalitarian state. Christians in Hong Kong are staring the beast in the face. But singing God's praises.

2. Hong Kong was supposed to be governed under "one country, two systems" (with Hong Kong remaining a free and democratic city) after the UK handed over Hong Kong to China in 1997. However, the communist Chinese party which have ruled China since 1949 never kept that promise. They've encroached on Hong Kong's democratic government and individual liberties for years.

Of course, this affects Christians in Hong Kong. What has happened in mainland China could happen in Hong Kong too: "China has been stripping away religious freedoms and increasing persecution of Christians, including forcing churches to replace images of Jesus with portraits of a Communist leader, removing Christmas displays, banning online Bible sales, shutting down the largest house church in Beijing, and destroying a church building where 50,000 people worshipped."

There are approximately 900,000 Christians (of any stripe) in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's total population is approximately 7.5 million.

3. One hopes the darkness won't overcome the light, but Hong Kong's future looks utterly bleak to me. Suppose the extradition bill is withdrawn and communist China's lackey Hong Kong's "mayor" Carrie Lam resigns. Once the international spotlight is off Hong Kong, what keeps the Chinese government from continuing to subvert democracy and religious freedom in Hong Kong? The extradition bill simply makes official what China already unofficially does.

I can't see anything short of independence (or something along those lines) guaranteeing Hong Kong's democracy. Of course, China would never allow it. In any case, Hong Kong would need a stronger power to speak or intervene on their behalf if they want any hope of success (e.g. the UK, the US), but that seems unlikely too. And even if Hong Kong receives such help, their chances of success still seem limited. But what do I know?