Pray for peace’ in Hong Kong as violence worsens – Irish missionary

An Irish priest based in embattled Hong Kong has called on people to “pray for peace” as months of protests have become increasingly violent.

He said that a recent ban on face masks, which caused further clashes over the weekend, has “hardened the position of protestors”.

Fr Michael Cuddigan SSC said he couldn’t celebrate Mass on Sunday for the first time since the protests started almost 18 weeks ago.

“It’s hard to know what’s going to happen, there’s a hardening of positions on both sides, the powers that be really haven’t given anything,” he said.

“The people in Hong Kong want to be able to choose and to elect their own officials. The powers that be, they choose who’s going to be on the panel and tell the local people to choose from there.”

The priest, who is originally from Midleton in Cork but has spent seven years in Hong Kong and serves at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel in Central, Hong Kong, added: “Peace, pray for peace, that’s what we need basically. Yesterday our centre was closed because the railway system was closed down, I think there’s fear around.”

The situation continues to escalate after a Chinese military garrison in Hong Kong raised a warning flag in a rare public reaction after taunts from protestors on Sunday.

Emergency
 powers

The anti-mask laws were brought in by the administration’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam under colonial-era emergency powers aimed at stopping people covering their faces during public assemblies. Ms Lam said the ‘Prohibition of Face Covering Regulation’ was a “necessary decision” but does not mean Hong Kong is in a state of emergency.

Fr Cuddigan’s Mass had to be cancelled because the city’s major transport network MTR suspended all of its operations after demonstrators vandalised several areas in the city, including train stations, shopping centres and banks.

Last week an 18-year-old student became the first person to be shot with live ammunition by riot police after four months of protests, he survived.

Criticism

The protests first began when the Hong Kong government proposed a bill that would have extended the number of territories prisoners could be extradited to, including mainland China. It received international and domestic criticism from groups fearing the erosion of Hong Kong’s legal system and unfair trials on the mainland.