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How full is full religious freedom?

HONG KONG (SE): In the clash of heads over the inclusion by chief executive hopeful, Carrie Lam Chen Yuet-ngor, of a suggestion to set up a government Religious Affairs Unit in Hong Kong (see page 1), the phrase, “Hong Kong already enjoys full religious freedom” is being tossed about with gay abandon.

While it is a guarantee of the Basic Law, the definition of religious freedom seems to be at least up for grabs, as it is not necessarily clear who has the right to define or describe it.
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Fresh breeze blows through politics

A narrow victory to Yau Wai-ching in the September 4 Legislative Council (LegCo) elections in the Kowloon West geographical constituency is like a fresh breeze blowing through Hong Kong politics.

The community director of Youngspiration, a party formed in the wake of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, is not the typical aspiring politician.







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Election shakes up Hong Kong politics

HONG KONG (SE): Belying the entrance polls at the September 4 Legislative Council (LegCo) election, the public responded by voting not just for the traditional opposition Pan-Democrats, but a new category running under the name of Localists that advocates independence for Hong Kong.

A first-time candidate, Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, whose main platform is justice in land issues and promoting a sustainable environmental, was a big winner.
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Taking the journal out of journalism

BEIJING (SE): The president of China, Xi Jinping, seemed to be intent on taking the journal out of journalism, when he addressed a symposium after a visit to the nation’s three leading news providers, the People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television (CCTV), on February 19.
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If you won’t vote for evil don’t vote at all

MANILA (UCAN): In responding to the widespread accusation that the upcoming May 9 presidential election in The Philippines is fielding such a poor crop of probable candidates that choosing one to work for the common good of the whole country may be a bit like choosing between the devil or the deep blue sea.

In a pastoral statement released on February 3, Being Eucharistic in Life and Deeds, the bishops say voters must be guided by a sense of the common good when choosing their leaders.
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New law aimed at wiping out dynasties

MANILA (UCAN): A new law that, for the first time in Philippine history addresses the banning of political dynasties in the country, has received a widespread popular acclaim.

The president, Noynoy Aquino, signed the bill into law on January 19 prohibiting young people, who have relatives holding elective positions in government, from seeking a seat in the SangguniangKabataan (Youth Council).
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A Catholic politician is not a Church whipping boy

TAIPEI (SE): The outcome of the presidential elections held in Taiwan on January 16 may signal the coming of a new era for the people of the island conclave.

But in Church circles, a big topic of interest has been the election of the first Catholic, Chen Chien-jen, as a vice president, with many Catholics seeming to believe this makes him a Church whipping boy in the parliament.
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