Late-Night Snacks and Midnight Minibuses

The first thing I want to do in this article is to share this post from a friend's blog.  This guy has traveled the world, and has intentionally spent time in very difficult, oppressive areas.  But, he was still surprised when he visited Wanchai's red-light district in Hong Kong last month.

I've been to this neighborhood many times, going with friends who want to go pray and minister around Lockhart Road.  Honestly, during the day, it's a nice enough place to hang out and eat.  But at night, it's...not good.  Reading the perspective of someone who hasn't been there before reminded me just how bad it can be.

Here's his experience: mytravelswithfather.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/a-documentary-film/

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So, after having spent most of the evening in Wanchai praying with friends, I then got to hear testimonies from some other friends in Wanchai.  They had just come back from China, and shared about their interview with a great hero of the underground Chinese church.  He is very old, and this may have been his last interview...it was beautiful, sad, stirring, and provoking to hear what he shared.

After we finished talking, I left my friends' place well after midnight, which meant the metro was closed, and I had to look for a minibus to take me back to New Territories.  On the way, Google Maps directed me to the wrong bus stop, and I ended up seeing Big Pizza (the restaurant mentioned in my friend's article).

<I actually took a picture of the restaurant, but I lost it.  No worries--it wasn't a pretty place, anyway.>


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I finally found my bus stop and went on my way.  But, I had to transfer buses in Mong Kok.  Instead of transferring and moving on, though, I wandered around for maybe 40 minutes looking for my bus.  Ai-ya!

And it was raining torrentially.  And the traffic was crowded. And it was 2 AM.

That's Mong Kok.

While I was walking around, I realized that this neighborhood was also exactly the place where I had spent my first night in Hong Kong last June, when I moved here from Shanghai.  Housing had not lined up before my move, so I was planning to stay at hostels for my first few weeks in Hong Kong.  I knew Mong Kok had a lot of cheap hostels.  But I didn't realize how cheap (i.e. cramped, dirty, and shady) they were.  It could have been worse, but...

Strolling down memory lane...ish?  (This is where I spent my first night after moving to Hong Kong.)

Anyway, back to the torrential rain and impossible-to-find minibus. Even though it was late, and I was tired, it was actually a beautiful night.  Really, the rain and lightning were awesome. And, I got to "prayer walk" Mong Kok for half an hour.  Honestly, I'm glad it worked out this way.  Mong Kok is the center of a lot of Hong Kong's darker activities, but I was able to look around with great hope.  God has plans for this place.

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Just a warning...if you don't speak and read Cantonese, the minibus system can be a real challenge.  But, I finally found an Indian-Hong Kong minibus driver, who spoke clear English, and was happy to help me.  It turns out that the minibus stop was actually less than 50 meters away from the spot where I'd been dropped off.  Whoops!

I'm grateful to God (and to Google Maps) for a memorable night on the streets of Hong Kong.  But...I do really need to learn Cantonese.  Fast.

(Photo taken from China Daily HK Edition story, "Midnite Motor Madness", 2009-11-14.  Cached article here.)

Cutting Crime at Hospitals

Today, I ended up walking by the North District Hospital. I had wanted to see this place, because it's only several blocks away from where I have been staying in Sheung Shui, and it was recently in the news as the scene of some shocking criminal activity (see Independent article here).

Last month, there had been some infighting among Wo Shing Wo leadership about business in Sheung Shui. (Wo Shing Wo is the largest of the Hong Kong-based Triad gangs, boasting a membership of 150,000 men). A henchman in Sheung Shui had been in a fight, and had to go to the hospital.  As he was coming out of the North District Hospital, two men came up to him, quickly and skillfully slashed him to death, and were then driven away in a car.

And, there were dozens of innocent bystanders watching. I guess they wanted to make their point loudly and clearly.

Later, there was a large wake, held for the murdered man outside, in public, where many of the man's fellow criminals were present.  But, since it was a wake, apparently the police just let them do their thing.

So, back to today.  This afternoon, after I took the photo above, I had lunch with a couple friends. I mentioned the story of the Triad murder, and my friend Doug started telling me that Sheung Shui can certainly be dangerous.  Several years ago, Doug was living in the nearby neighborhood of Sheung Shui Wai.  He was riding his bike, when he was suddenly cut off by a man in a minivan.  The man happened to be a Triad, and was experiencing inexplicable road rage.  The man stopped his car, got out, took out a torch (?!), and started beating Doug's head and chest.  (He bled profusely, and did not recover for some time.)

Despite the bleeding and pain, Doug was able to protect himself from his attacker, while a large crowd gathered to watch.  Finally, the man had to run away. People in the neighborhood definitely knew this man, and that he was guilty for many crimes.  But nobody was willing to speak as a witness against him, because he was a Triad, and the Triads can do whatever they want to do.

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Hospitals are places for saving lives, not taking them.  People definitely should not be chopped up outside of hospitals.  But these men knew what they were doing. They had it planned out perfectly.  They were confident that if they killed this guy, they would be solidifying their financial interests (see SCMP article for details).  So, they chopped him up.  And, they did it in front of dozens of onlookers, knowing that nobody would stop them, because they're Triads.

I am also personally opposed to people being chopped up inside of hospitals.  But the men who do it are trained well--and they are confident that they can chop up a dozen a day.  They become very rich in the process, and know that nobody will dare to stop them, because they're government-licensed abortion doctors.

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This evening (I often do this on my birthday), I spent time outside a hospital where they do abortions.  I prayed quietly for about an hour, thinking of all the members of my generation who have been intentionally erased from the human family.

Again, I think people should be healed and saved at hospitals.  Not poisoned and killed.

I know that abortion can be a really awful and awkward matter to talk about.  But, please...while we're in the process of working through the moral, legal, social, and  medical complexities of the issue, let's just lay down a simple ground rule for the discussion:  Whether they're inside or outside, nobody should be chopped to death at a hospital.

Nobody should be chopped to death at a hospital.

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June 7 via Facebook mobile

So grateful for this life today on my birthday. Now taking time to remember the tens of thousands of unborn Chinese children whose lives will end tomorrow.

God, turn the hearts of fathers to their children. — at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital.

Gay Marriage Equality...in China?

Recently, I've been really concerned about the growing LGBT movement in Hong Kong.  Just as the idea of marriage equality laws would have sounded crazy to most Americans 20 years ago, it still sounds crazy to most people here.  But, like the rest of the world, it's just a matter of time before the laws start being argued, then passed.  And how long will it be before they spread into China?  What that means for the world's largest nation is a little terrifying.

Think about it. Chinese people already have a laissez-faire, "没办法" attitude towards sex.  Chinese culture accepts, (and even expects) that wealthy or upper-middle class men will engage in adultery, prostitution, and bigamy.  Sex slavery in China is a huge industry.  Given the current situation of Chinese sexual mores, their laws outlawing homosexual practice in China are like laws to outlaw throwing gasoline on an already burning building.  Possibly helpful, but...we're missing the point.

My only hope is that God "turns the hearts of fathers to their children, and of children to their fathers". (Malachi 4:4-7)

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Here's a piece from a fascinating article, written by Robert Oscar Lopez, a self-identified bisexual English professor at California State University-Northridge.

"Many have dismissed my story with four simple words: “But you are conservative.” Yes, I am. How did I get that way? ...because I lived in precisely the kind of anti-normative, marginalized, and oppressed identity environment that the left celebrates: I am a bisexual Latino intellectual, raised by a lesbian, who experienced poverty in the Bronx as a young adult. I’m perceptive enough to notice that liberal social policies don’t actually help people in those conditions. Especially damning is the liberal attitude that we shouldn't be judgmental about sex. In the Bronx gay world, I cleaned out enough apartments of men who’d died of AIDS to understand that resistance to sexual temptation is central to any kind of humane society. Sex can be hurtful not only because of infectious diseases but also because it leaves us vulnerable and more likely to cling to people who don’t love us, mourn those who leave us, and not know how to escape those who need us but whom we don’t love...

So yes, I am conservative and support Regnerus’s findings."

(See related findings here.)

Missions in Asia: Some Book Reviews

In March, I stayed for a weekend with some friends in Iowa.  They had an amazing selection of books on China and Asia, including a number on missionary work. I looked at a few, though, and thought I'd share these.  They're really good, and full of stories that will make you want more of God, and more of His kingdom.

Between Two Tigers: Testimonies of Vietnamese Christians, by Tom White (1996)
In Vietnam, some tigers have four feet.  Others have only two feet.  Vietnamese Christians courageously spread the Gospel between the government tiger and the religious tiger.  A Vietnamese rice farmer shares, "I try to carry little Bible tracts with me and one Bible.  I would rather carry the literature than food, so I don't bring food with me.  Sometimes we run into wild animals.  We can hear the voice and see the footprints of the tigers.  There are many snakes.  The people follow witchcraft and animism; they worship the plants and rocks.  When we are walking on the trail, we pray constantly.  We are not scared of the jungle, but we are scared of the Vietnamese border police.  If we meet them along the way, they will shoot us...  But my favorite Bible verse is, 'Go and make disciples of all nations.'"

As you walk with these brothers and sisters between their tigers, you will become renewed and strengthened with a modern-day view of those who are called "Christians."

--taken from back cover

Stories From China: Fried Rice for the Soul, by Luke Wesley, Foreword by Brother Yun (1997)

Not long ago I spoke with Pastor Zhou, a leader of a house church network that asked us to partner with them in establishing an underground Bible school.  As we discussed what the school might look like, Pastor Zhou emphasized that they wanted a strong missions component in the curriculum.  I thought this was terrific, but assumed that he was largely interested in preparing their students for cross-cultural ministry within the borders of China.  But as he explained further, I quickly saw that I had underestimated their vision.  Pastor Zhou stated that they felt God had called the Chinese church ‘to take the gospel back to Jerusalem’.  He noted that the gospel was first shared in Jerusalem.  And then, for the most part, the gospel was taken westward to Europe and then North America.  Finally, missionaries brought the gospel to China.  Now, Pastor Zhou affirmed, the Chinese church believes that they have been called by God to take the gospel back to Jerusalem.  ‘We believe that God wants us to send missionaries to Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and on to Jerusalem.’ He looked at my white, American face and said, ‘It would be difficult for you to go there, but we Chinese have a long history of dealings with these peoples and nations.  We can fit in easily.  God is calling us to go.’ Back to Jerusalem—what a wonderful vision!

--Meditation #12: Back to Jerusalem

Restricted Nations: China, by Voice of the Martyrs, Riley K. Smith (2008)

…a group of Protestant missionaries working in Guitan, Fujian province, and retreating at Huasang village was attacked by a...Secret Society known as the Vegetarians.  The Vegetarians were an odd crew of insurgents.  Anti-government rebels who claimed to abstain from meat, the Vegetarians would bring nuts, seeds, and fruit as part of their worship ritual.

The vegetarians had gathered to cast lots, asking the spirits for guidance on the plans they had devised to carry out, one of which was attacking the missionaries retreating at Huasang.  Three nights in a row, the lot fell on the missionaries, and 120 men were sent to carry out the ruthless murder of the missionaries.

The morning of August 1, 1895, the Vegetarians descended on the unsuspecting missionaries…

The murder at Huasang was the first that Protestant missionaries had experienced since their arrival in 1807.  But the slaughter did not deter the gospel in China.  In a letter dated August 28, 1895, the remaining missionaries with the organization appealed for ten more workers to take the place of those who were killed.  Many responded.  In addition to the number of missionaries arriving, the martyrdom of these faithful ones created a hunger among the Chinese to experience Christ’s salvation.

The only adult missionary to survive the attack, Flora Codrington, recovered in England and returned to China.  Her deep commitment to the Chinese made a lasting impression, and thousands turned to Christ as a result.

--Secret Societies, p 40-42

Hong Kong Police Culture

Last night, I arrived really early to a prayer meeting at my church.  So, I went across the street to a cheap noodle shop.

I got inside, ordered beef noodles, and since it was a bit crowded, I sat at a table with another guy.  He was in his 30's.  We started talking, and I found out that he had grown up in this neighborhood, and was now an officer at the local police station.

We chatted a bit about Hong Kong, and he talked about how lousy Hong Kong's government is.  But, I really wanted to ask him about the area where he works in Wanchai, and specifically about the neighborhood around Hong Kong's world-famous bar district on Lockhart Road.  Incidentally, it's right by Hong Kong's largest police station.

I asked him, "As a police officer, what is the biggest problem you see in the neighborhood?"

"There are always many events and gatherings, so traffic is a big problem."

Coincidentally, I had also been thinking about the traffic problem--just not that kind of traffic.

"Anything else?"

"In the bars, there is a lot of drugs.  This is a problem."

Drugs in Hong Kong...that could have been an interesting conversation.  But, I didn't know when I'd have another opportunity to talk with a police officer about sex trafficking in Hong Kong.  So, I went for it.

"Okay.  I know people who say that there are many prostitutes at the bars on Lockhart Road who do not want to work there."

He lifted up his finger energetically.  "Oh, no!  No problem. There are no under-age.  All of them are legal age."

He meant that most of the prostitutes on Lockhart Road are 18 or older.  Unfortunately, most of them are also foreigners, employed for bar work and sex work.  This is sex trafficking, and it's definitely not legal.

Just to clarify--in talking with the officer, I assumed that he didn't know that, according to Hong Kong law, hiring someone from abroad for a job that involves sex work is considered sex trafficking.  Hong Kong law actually has a fairly reasonable definition of this crime--but these laws are rarely enforced.

"Oh, no under-age?  That's good.  But I hear that there are many women who have a six-month contract, and they are only paid for 2 or 3 months.  They get tricked, and their employers or agencies lie to them about their expenses."

"No, their boss and work agency has to explain to them."

"So, they all understand what they are getting into?

"Yes, they must know before they come."

In fact, many prostitutes do know what they're getting into before they come.  In fact, there are many who come to Hong Kong on a six-month contract, go back to the Philippines or Thailand, and then return again. Sometimes they bring a friend or a sister with them!  As bad as it sounds, there are certainly worse places to be a prostitute than in Hong Kong.

But, there are also many young women who come here and have no idea that they will be conned out of half their wages.  And there's nothing they can do.  After all, it's just a temp job, and things don't always work out your way, right?  It's just tough luck.

I continued talking with the officer.  "Well, I hope they know.  But, of course, most prostitutes in Hong Kong are in massage parlors, not on the streets, right?"

He looked confused, and surprised.  Eventually, he slowly said,  "There are some places that are not legal."

I tried to look laid-back and matter-of-fact as I explained, "Yeah, just like any big city, you might have 90% of prostitutes hidden away inside massage parlors and other businesses, and just a few out on the sidewalks."

I'm really not sure why he had to leave so suddenly.  But he had already finished his noodles, and didn't seem to be enjoying the conversation nearly as much as I was.

Anyway, after he left, I paid for my noodles, and went up to the prayer meeting.  A few people gather at my church weekly to pray for an end to sex trafficking in Hong Kong.  We prayed for Hong Kong's government, especially members of the judicial system.We also prayed for the police officers of Hong Kong (and for one in particular).

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I read last year about some sex workers going to four different police stations in Hong Kong, to notify police that a prostitute had been raped.  The policemen's response at all four stations was the same.

They laughed.

I don't have the exact wording, but the idea was: "How can you rape a prostitute?  That's their job, right?"

Well...it's hard to know how to answer that, if you're talking with people who don't believe that prostitutes are full human persons, who share a common dignity with every other member of society.

But it's not just the average Hong Kong police officer who doesn't believe that prostitutes are worthy of having their dignity respected.  Most cultures see prostitutes as women who just really want to have sex and make a lot of money. That's a problem.  Because it's usually just not true.

Back to Hong Kong police culture, though.  If the police were to develop a more humane attitude towards prostitutes (and towards women in general), then the sex trafficking industry would...

Well, it would be ruined, wouldn't it?

Let's make people a little uncomfortable, and ruin things for Hong Kong's sex trafficking industry.