Reflections...

Good Morning. I’m David Gill.

What would you do if you woke up one morning to find you had suddenly become the Chief Executive of Hong Kong?

What would you do with the job? I don’t mean the routine chores -- attending meetings, dealing with visitors, fronting up for ceremonial occasions, talking to the media and suchlike. I mean the important things. What would you try to achieve, to make Hong Kong even better than it is?

Recently, a number of our religious leaders revealed how they would answer that question. On behalf of the Hong Kong Christian Council, they outlined some hopes for our Chief Executive. When I read their list, I liked it. It makes sense. And it puts in everyday language some of the key concerns of the Christian faith.

The statement talks about developing Hong Kong into “an open international city where human rights are protected, minorities respected, and the gap between the rich and poor is being narrowed, … [where] equal opportunities are offered to all and the rule of law [is] upheld, [where] different religious beliefs, freedom of opinion and expression as well as freedom of assembly [are] safeguarded”.

It wants to take further the democratic process, with a timetable for introducing universal suffrage. It looks for a society where everyone can obtain the basic necessities of life, the poor and the elderly especially. It expects that the Chief Executive will “pursue vigorously efforts to improve the quality of air and water … [and] to protect the natural environment”.

It ends by calling for “leadership in developing an inclusive society with a caring and responsible citizenship, which lives by the virtues of fairness and compassion”. These, what the authors call “spiritual values,” are, they say, the foundation of everything else.

Mind you, there were some things I looked for in the statement and didn’t find. No mention of the precarious situation of asylum seekers, who are not allowed to work here and only allowed to starve. No mention either of the need to legislate to protect the rights of unpopular minorities. But basically the priorities were right.

An inclusive society … caring and responsible citizenship … fairness and compassion. A compelling vision. Worth bearing in mind, in case you ever find yourself feeding the fish at Government House. Indeed, it is a vision worth bearing in mind, even if you never find yourself anywhere near Hong Kong’s top job.

Why? Because it is first and foremost a vision for you and me, for every Hongkonger. “Developing an inclusive society with a caring and responsible citizenship, which lives by the virtues of fairness and compassion” – that’s a job description for each one of us, not just, or even primarily, for a Chief Executive.

Back in the 1970’s, while working for the World Council of Churches, I came to know one of the most remarkable political leaders of post-colonial Africa. Sir Seretse Khama was the wise, much loved founding president of Botswana. “You know,” he said to me on one occasion, “everyone imagines that being president gives me so much power. But they’re wrong. I can change the budget. I can change my cabinet ministers. I can change the law. But I cannot change the human heart. Yet that is where the country’s biggest problems are located.”

What political leaders cannot do, you and I sometimes can.

“Developing an inclusive society with a caring and responsible citizenship, which lives by the virtues of fairness and compassion”. What could be a better project than that, for each one of us? Starting today. Starting now.

So … have a good week. Let’s try to make it a more caring, more compassionate week.