GWANGJU (UCAN): Twelve members of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Diocese of Hong Kong (JPC) visited Gwangju, South Korea to learn about the Gwangju Uprising of 18 to 27 May 1980, when citizens took up arms after Chonnam University students demonstrating against the military government were beaten by soldiers. South Korean authorities said about 200 died in the uprising from but activists put the figure at about 2,000.
 

HONG KONG (SE): Public holidays are the most crowded days for Central, the financial hub of Hong Kong. Foreign domestic workers, who have nowhere to go on their day off,  have little choice but to “occupy Central” week after week. 
 
The Justice and Peace Commission put together a guided tour on July 22 and invited people to come and see the plight of foreign domestic workers first hand.
 

HONG KONG (SE): Prior to the annual July 1 protest march, Church leaders urged around 250 participants at an ecumenical prayer meeting held at Paterson Street, Causeway Bay, not to fear or lose hope, but continue to show mercy and fight for justice and most importantly to keep one’s conscience alive. Those present were urged to defend the city with Christian values. 
 

HONG KONG (SE): Speakers at a forum organised by the Justice and Peace Commission, pointed out that the government should address the uneven distribution of land before claiming that there is a shortage of land.
 
The forum, held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Wanchai, on June 19, was organised in response to a consultation launched by the government about the supply of land in the next three decades.
 

HONG KONG (UCAN): The Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) of Hong Kong issued a statement on May 29 calling on the Chinese government to release Coadjutor Bishop Augustine Cui Tai of Xuanhua, of the unofficial Church in Hebei, who was detained by authorities in mid-April and has not been seen since.
 
The statement said that the bishop has been in poor health in recent years, suffering from severe gastritis, neurasthenia and dizziness, and should be allowed to receive medical care.
 

HONG KONG (SE): Christians in Hong Kong urged the Chinese Government to stop suppressing religious freedom during a prayer service outside the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government, Western District, on the evening of April 30.
 

HONG KONG (SE): A forum organised by the Justice and Peace Commission at Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Wanchai on September 29 to mark the 50th anniversary of the release of the landmark encyclical, The Progress of Peoples (Populorum Progressio), heard there is still a long way to go in bringing the development of humankind to an inclusive fulfillment.
 

HONG KONG (SE): The Hong Kong Catholic Social Workers’ Organisation, the Justice and Peace Commission and the Social Concern Group from St. Thomas the Apostle parish in Tsing Yi, as well as around 20,000 people who signed a petition saying that the disqualification is trampling on the election results, have expressed deep concern over the barring of four members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) by the court on July 14.
 

HONG KONG (SE): The traditional ecumenical prayer meeting that has been held prior to the July 1 march lost its old spot in Victoria Park this year, as did the organisers of the march, who lost their gathering ground to the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty.