Hong Kong missionaries targeting increasing number of ‘hungry souls’ from the mainland

While disgruntled Hong Kong residents find 'locust' mainland shoppers frustrating, local church groups exult over the potential to save an increasing number of souls who come to study in the former British colony. Mainland students, mostly indoctrinated in atheism and Marxism in their formative years, are now welcomed by Hong Kong's missionaries who provide free Cantonese courses and everyday help. Campus conversion among mainland students is increasing, but when they come back to the mainland after graduation, they have to learn to cope with the division between the government-sanctioned Three-Self churches and underground house churches.

The first Putonghua-speaking local that Wang Yuancheng, a 22-year-old student from the Chinese mainland, met in Hong Kong, was a pastor.

Wang encountered the man on a rainy day outside a school library, the only place he often visited outside of his classrooms, during his early days at Hong Kong City University.

Wang could not speak or understand any Cantonese which made him feel isolated. So he was delighted to find that the man, who gave off a casual vibe and wore jeans and sneakers, appeared to be a very "typical Hongkonger," and could speak Putonghua well.

After a few minutes of small talk, Wang, like many students from the Chinese mainland confused about how to start a life in this strange place, was pointed toward free Cantonese classes taught and organized by a club called Jiananmeidi, or Canaan, which offers Cantonese classes in major universities in Hong Kong.

The website of the club, with more than 200 Christians from different churches, said that the organization has helped more than 6,000 students from the Chinese mainland from 2007 to 2013.

Participants learn Cantonese, but they are also divided into small church groups, which say they are there to help the students adapt to local society by organizing sight-seeing events and parties, particularly during festivals.

Wang found his tutor was very helpful, even assisting in everyday tasks like paying electricity bills.

One year later, three students from the 80-strong class Wang attended had been converted to Christianity, and Wang, who had never visited a church and had studied atheist Marxism - as required in Chinese high schools - was among them.

His path to conversion was fairly typical for students from the Chinese mainland in Hong Kong: learning Cantonese, joining communions and church-organized activities, reading the Bible and gradually building connections with the church.

The reasons why these students convert vary, but the number of converted students in Hong Kong is rising as local religious groups focus their attention on them.

A 'targeted' group

For churches, students from the Chinese mainland form an important focus group that needs help.

Most of the university support groups that welcome new students from the Chinese mainland are run by church staff.

"It is not easy for a Chinese mainland student to live in Hong Kong and there are many things we can help with, like learning Cantonese, buying home appliances, renting an apartment and looking for a job after graduating," a clergyman surnamed Lee, 36, who has been working for five years in a church in Kowloon district, told the Global Times.

Cantonese classes are the most popular program among mainland first year students, and more than 200 registered for the classes at Polytechnic University. After a lecture, the attendants were divided into 10 smaller groups, who were set to engage in different activities.

"Some of those activities are in churches and if students seem to be interested in Christianity, the groups read the Bible together," Xu Jiahe, 27, who since 2011 has worked for a Christian group that specially serves Chinese mainland students in Polytechnic University, told the Global Times.

Another converted student, Liu Yuhan, 25, who came to Hong Kong three years ago from Beijing, took part in similar group activities when studying at Hong Kong Baptist University, and had the chance to learn about the religion and the Bible.

First he participated because he felt lonely and "the church staff are very nice people, I did not mind staying with them," he said.

"Then I started to notice some connections between God and found that the Bible teachings were being confirmed in my daily life," he said.

But Liu's roommate stayed away from church after encountering a clergyman who was "too warm-hearted."

"I understand they want to disseminate the gospel to benefit more people, but they cannot rush too fast," Liu said.

Some groups considered by local Christians to be fringe sects, such as Mormonism, aggressively pursue students from the Chinese mainland, Lee said. Of even more concern are the aggressive preachers from the Almighty God cult, a banned sect which made headlines in China after members were involved in the savage fatal beating of a girl in a McDonald's in Shandong Province, after she refused to provide her phone number.