Hong Kong Christians May Fall Victim to Revised Extradition Laws
(International Christian Concern) – Hong Kong is planning to amend its extradition laws to allow suspects to be sent to mainland China, a move that comes widely criticized by rights groups and Western countries.
On April 3, Hong Kong’s leaders launched the laws to grant the chief executive the right to order the extradition of wanted offenders to China, Macau and Taiwan as well as other countries not covered by Hong Kong’s existing extradition treaties.
Many fear that suspects in Hong Kong, regardless of their nationalities, could be arrested secretly and sent to China without due process.
Ying Fuk-tsang, director of the Divinity School of Chung Chi College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, joins the list of concerned Hong Kongers as he expresses his worries over potential arrests of Hong Kong Christians who minister to Chinese underground churches.
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Village in India’s Chhattisgarh State Uses Local Ordinance to Make Christianity Illegal
(International Christian Concern) — Under India’s constitution, people’s right to religious freedom is broadly protected by Article 25. In practice, however, this right has become overshadowed by conflicting laws and the actions local governments.
This fact of life in India was recently demonstrated by unconstitutional actions taken by village leaders in the village of Penkodo, located in India’s Chhattisgarh state. In Penkodo, village leaders passed a resolution that both condemned and prohibited the practice of Christianity. To justify these unconstitutional actions, the village leaders used local laws allowing them to pass village resolutions aimed at protecting their traditional customs and culture.
According to local reports, the residents of Penkodo became irritated with local Christians because they were not participating in traditional Adivasi festivals. Village leaders asked the Christians to stop practicing their faith, but the Christians refused.
Upset, the village leaders drafted an official ordinance on April 13, condemning Christianity and claiming it was harming local practices and traditions.
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