Posted on 06/23/2019 3:06:23 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A hymn sung by Christian groups participating in the anti-extradition Hong Kong protests has caught on and become an unlikely anthem for the movement of millions in the streets.
For the past week, "Sing Hallelujah to the Lord" has been heard almost non-stop at the main protest site in front of the city's Legislative Council, and at marches and tense stand-offs with police, Reuters reported.
Although only 10 percent of the population is Christian, church groups quickly rallied after being alarmed by reports of police brutality to make a safe haven for protesters as the government said it had to crack down on "organized riots."
And that's how the hymn caught on.
“As religious assemblies were exempt, it could protect the protesters. It also shows that it is a peaceful protest,” Edwin Chow, 19, acting president of the Hong Kong Federation of Catholic Students, told Reuters. “This was the one people picked up, as it is easy for people to follow, with a simple message and easy melody."
The simple hymn heard around Hong Kong was composed by Linda Stassen-Benjamin in the United States in 1974 for Easter.
The protests over the past 10 days have been largely peaceful although police on Wednesday last week used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
A lot of the leaders are Christian.
I thought the site posting this was going to be a religious site.
I did not expect it from a msm news outlet.
Which makes it even more shocking.
And beautiful.
I have NO IDEA how China has been handling Hong Kong and how much freedom or lack of they have.
What’s the extradition bit all about? thanks
We could use some of that enthusiasm here.
Liberals and children hardest hit.
Film at 11.
Presently there is no agreement allowing extradition of “criminals” from Hong Kong to Mainland China. The chief executive of HK, a pro Mainland China lady named Carrie Lam, tried to pass a law that would allow extradition, claiming that it would prevent “criminals” from hiding out in HK. People saw that through that quickly, because Mainland China could call anyone who doesn’t agree with it a “criminal” (disturbing social peace or something like that), and then drag them off to Mainland China to be imprisoned. So no one in HK would be safe and HK would quickly crumble to total Mainland control although it is supposed to be quasi-independent for 50 years. (HK still has a British-style legal system.)
The protests have been huge, I think the biggest one was estimated to be between 1 and 2 million people who participated.
[ We could use some of that enthusiasm here. ]
It would be called a “hate rally” by the spirit of antichrist liberal media.
RE: What’s the extradition bit all about? thanks
BACKGROUND:
In early 2018, 19-year-old Hong Kong resident Chan Tong-kai allegedly killed his pregnant girlfriend Poon Hiu-wing in Taiwan, proceeding to return to Hong Kong. Chan admitted to Hong Kong police that he killed Poon but the police were unable to charge him for murder or extradite him to Taiwan because no agreement is in place.
Until May 2019, the two ordinances in Hong Kong, the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance, were not applicable to the requests for surrender of fugitive offenders and mutual legal assistance between Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In February 2019, the government proposed changes to fugitive laws, establishing a mechanism for case-by-case transfers of fugitives by the Hong Kong Chief Executive to any jurisdiction with which the city lacks a formal extradition treaty, which it claimed would close the “legal loophole”
The Bill was first proposed by the Hong Kong government in February 2019 in response to the 2018 homicide case of a Hong Kong couple in Taiwan. The government said that the amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503) and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation Ordinance (Cap. 525) would establish a mechanism for case-by-case transfers of fugitives by the Chief Executive to not only Taiwan, BUT ALSO MAINLAND CHINA , with which the city lacks a formal extradition treaty.
AS a result of INCLUDING MAINLAND CHINA in the extradition bill, which people originally wanted to ONLY involve Taiwan, things went haywire.
Concerns were raised from all sectors of the community, including legal professionals, journalists, human rights groups and business chambers. Opposition expressed fears about the legislation that the city would open itself up to the long arm of mainland Chinese Communist law and that people from Hong Kong fall victim to a different legal system.
It therefore urged the government to establish an extradition arrangement with Taiwan only, and to sunset the arrangement immediately after the surrender of suspect.
When the HK Legislature refused to consider this, the protests started.
God bless
Yes, I think it was the legal community that was involved in the very first protest because it saw the implications of the bill. I only know that because I got a Facebook invite to participate in that protest (unfortunately I am actually thousands of miles away or I would have gone). Anyway, people were shocked to see all these respected barristers, solicitors and retired judges participating, which opened everyone’s eyes to the danger of the bill.
Sorry, it wasn’t the first, but it did shock Hong-Kongers because it really emphasized this was a serious threat to civil liberties.
From Wikipedia;
June 6 lawyers’ silent march
Thousands of lawyers marched in black against the extradition bill on 6 June 2019.
The legal professionals who had raised concerns over the extradition bill also staged a silent march on 6 June. Wearing in black, the lawyers, legal academics and law students marched from the Court of Final Appeal to the Central Government Offices. Led by Dennis Kwok, Legislative Councillor for the Legal constituency, and also two former Hong Kong Bar Association chairmen, Martin Lee and Denis Chang, the lawyers then stood in front of the government headquarters looking at the building for three minutes silently.[23] Attended by more than 3,000 Hong Kong lawyers, representing around one quarter of the city’s lawyers, it was the fifth, and the largest, protest march held by lawyers in Hong Kong since 1997.[24]
While the lawyers expressed grave reservations about the openness and fairness of the justice system in China, limited access to a lawyer, and the prevalence of torture, Secretary for Security John Lee said the legal sector did not really understand the bill.[24]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Hong_Kong_anti-extradition_bill_protests
Joshua 6:5
And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
Thanks for the great images.
Amazing photos.
Would love to see a video of the protestors singing this song, could not find anything.
Wow, these pictures gave me good chills...praise God!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.