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October 1998
Dear Friends,
September was an unbelievable month. I found my job responsibilities
for the first time reaching an almost unbearable level. The various
parts of my work somehow all reached a "crunch" phase
at the same time—the religious broadcasting work, the environmental
case studies, the Food Aid Concert for North Korea, the World
Council of Churches’ Women’s Decade, and other random
but urgent tasks. My major consolation was that some of these
projects have a definite end in sight, after which life should
become more manageable.
The stress of the last few months has been a point of reflection.
With Hong Kong’s unemployment rate reaching an all-time high
of 5 percent, I realize I am indeed fortunate to have a job at
all. On top of that, my job is in my field, I am adequately compensated,
and it is secure for the next three years. Why am I complaining?
Many Hong Kong workers have been putting in unbelievable hours
or working in unbearable conditions for many years. In the past,
they could take comfort in knowing that there was some financial
reward or job security for their effort. That is no longer true.
With the economy officially in recession, the short-term future
looks bleak. At the present rate, 500 jobs are being lost each
day. Every week there are companies announcing layoffs and threats
of pay cuts. Most employees agree to the pay cut out of fear of
being fired and knowing there is little prospect of finding more
work soon. Many new university graduates are taking jobs that
are usually filled by high school graduates. It is not uncommon
for those with advanced degrees to be working several levels below
their ability. Unskilled workers who lose their jobs cannot find
work anymore. It is expected that next year will be even more
painful.
If one can find a silver lining in this current economic downturn,
it must be that the situation has forced Hong Kong to take a closer
look at itself. As one politician, Christine Loh, astutely noted,
our problems are caused by a combination of interacting factors—internal
and external, cyclical and structural, short- and long-term, individual
and institutional, and also psychological.
Her conclusion is that Hong Kong needs to resurrect a sense a
mission. In her alternative policy address, she says: "This
period of stagnation will pass. This is a time for restructuring
the economic and political landscape to position Hong Kong for
a new beginning. It will take some time to do everything that
we want and need to. This is not a time for turning conservative.
This is a time to try new ways of doing things. This is a time
to have a sense of mission, to contribute and to do things for
each other. We owe it to ourselves and to the world to remain
positive and energetic."
When I read those words, I know indeed that the Church and Christians
in Hong Kong also need to have a sense of mission—a sense
of God’s mission to help create a just and caring society
that is the only real way to achieve lasting prosperity for all.
Please keep Hong Kong in your prayers as the people face even
more difficult days ahead. The government, the leadership, and
the people are all under severe pressure. We need wisdom and courage
to endure. We do owe it to ourselves, to the world and most importantly
to God to remain positive and energetic. May the Lord’s grace
be upon us.
Judy Chan
The 1998 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, page 164
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