Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

As the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary, there's another milestone that should also be remembered.

On July 1st, 1997, after 100 years as a British colony, Hong Kong was handed over to the People's Republic of China.

Part of the agreement Hong Kong was to remain one country, two systems for 50 years,

remaining a capitalist center and an otherwise communist nation.

Hong Kong has also become a hub of Christianity,

a place where many ministry workers have been trained and

theologically equipped and then sent into the mainland. Today, however, 29 years after that

handover, the future of the church and of religious liberty in Hong Kong is far from clear. While

many Hong Kongers hope to hold on to these freedoms and retain some degree of independence

until 2047, others are far more

apprehensive, believing that Hong Kong will more likely be assimilated into the mainland,

politically, legally, and ideologically. After all, as early as 2014, the Chinese Communist Party

interfered with Hong Kong elections, screening out candidates they deemed to be disloyal to China, and contradicting the whole spirit of one country, two systems.

They then cracked down heavily on the umbrella protest, arresting and deporting many leaders.

Then in 2020, the Chinese Communist Party enacted the national security law, effectively granting the Chinese government more control over Hong Kong under the pretext of safeguarding national security. In reality, this just gave carte blanche authority for the CCP to persecute anyone deemed to be a threat to the party. Now even ministry workers can conveniently be framed as colluding

with foreign entities. In fact, it is impossible for the power of the Chinese state to grow as it is

within Hong Kong without Christians appearing to be more and more of a threat. First, Christianity is

completely incompatible in a moral sense. As former Cardinal Joseph Zen put it,

Christianity is a rejection of, quote, the whole culture which is now reigning in China,

a culture of falsity of dishonesty, a lack of spiritual values, end quote. Second, and more importantly,

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