Because of you…
The ministry of Youth for Christ in Hong Kong reaches young people through school assemblies, concerts, evangelism & follow-up training, and volunteers training. They also do community outreach and have English tutorial classes.
Schools in Hong Kong are amazingly open to the Gospel. Youth for Christ is able to go into many secondary schools in Hong Kong and openly share the Gospel and then actually ask for young people to respond!
Hong Kong has a very effective program to involve overseas teams with their outreach ministries. They also have simple accommodation facilities for mission teams. Every year, Youth for Christ in Hong Kong receives many short-term overseas teams who are fully equipped with evangelism skills: music, mime, magic, etc. These teams must have a servant attitude and a deep burden for souls. As a result of joint efforts made by teams & Youth for Christ to reach high schoolers, many many teenagers come to know the Lord!
Prayer Needs
- Staff guidance and decision making
- Spiritual development of staff and volunteers
- Continued training of staff and youth leaders
About Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Introduction
Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years.
Geography
Location
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Geographic Coordinates: 22 15 N, 114 10 E
Area
Total Area: 1,104 sq km Rank: 183
Land Area: 1,054 sq km
Water Area: 50 sq km
Comparison: six times the size of Washington, DC
Land Boundaries: 30 km
Coastline: 733 km
Climate
subtropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall
Terrain
hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north
Elevations
Lowest Point: South China Sea 0 m
Highest Point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m
Natural Resources
outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar
Land Use
Arable land: 5.05%
Permanent Crops: 1.01%
Other: 93.94% (2001)
Irrigated Land: 20 sq km (1998 est.)
Environment
Natural Hazards: occasional typhoons
Environmental Issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization
Environmental Agreements:Party to: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member)
Geography Notes
more than 200 islands
People
Population: 7,055,071 (July 2010 est.) Rank: 100
Age Structure
0-14 years: 12.2% (male 450,833/female 411,997)
15-64 years: 74.6% (male 2,551,256/female 2,713,532)
65 years and over: 13.1% (male 434,090/female 493,363) (2010 est.)
Median Age: 42.4 years
Population Growth
Growth Rate: 0.504% (2010 est.) Rank: 155
Birth Rate: 7.42 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Rank: 223
Death Rate: 6.76 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Rank: 141
Net Migration Rate: 4.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) Rank: 24
Urbanization
Urban Population: 100% of total population (2008)
Rate of Urbanization: 1% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Life and Death
Infant Mortality Rate: 2.92 deaths/1,000 live births Rank: 220
Life Expectancy at Birth: 81.86 years Rank: 5
Fertility Rate: 1.04 children born/woman (2010 est.) Rank: 222
Health and Disease
HIV/AIDS - Adult Prevalence Rate: 0.1% (2003 est.) Rank: 152
People living with HIV/AIDS: 2,600 (2003 est.) Rank: 134
HIV/AIDS Deaths: fewer than 200 (2003 est.) Rank: 112
Nationality and Culture
Noun: Chinese/Hong Konger
Adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong
Ethnic Groups: Chinese 95%, Filipino 1.6%, Indonesian 1.3%, other 2.1% (2006 census)
Religion: eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%
Languages: Cantonese 90.8% (official), English 2.8% (official), Putonghua (Mandarin) 0.9%, other Chinese dialects 4.4%, other 1.1% (2006 census)
Education
Literacy (age 15 and over has ever attended school): 93.5% Male: 96.9% Female: 89.6% (2002)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): 14 years Male: 14 years Female: 13 years (2006)
Education expenditures: 3.9% of GDP (2006) Rank: 108
Government
Country Name
Conventional Long Form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Conventional Short Form: Hong Kong
Local Long Form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu
Local Short Form: Xianggang
Abbreviation: HK
Dependency Status: special administrative region of China
Government Type: limited democracy
Administrative divisions
none (special administrative region of China)
Independence: none (special administrative region of China)
National holiday: National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 1 July 1997 is celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day
Constitution: Basic Law, approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress, is Hong Kong's charter
Legal system: based on English common law
Executive Branch
Chief of State: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
Head of Government: Chief Executive Donald TSANG Yam-kuen (since 24 June 2005)
Cabinet: Executive Council or ExCo consists of 15 official members and 14 non-official members
Elections: chief executive elected for five-year term by 800-member electoral committee; election last held on 25 March 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
Legislative Branch
unicameral Legislative Council or LegCo (60 seats; 30 members indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 30 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
Note: the LegCo voted in June 2010 to expand to 70 seats for the next election; the measure is subject to approval by the National People's Congress Standing Committee and will require an amendment to Hong Kong's constitution; the 10 new seats will be chosen by popular vote
Elections: last held on 7 September 2008 (next to be held in September 2012)
Election Results: percent of vote by party - pro-democracy 57%; pro-Beijing 40%, independent 3%; seats by parties - (pro-Beijing 35) DAB 13, Liberal Party 7, FTU 1, others 14; (pro-democracy 23) Democratic Party 8, Civic Party 5, CTU 3, League of Social Democrats 3, ADPL 2, The Frontier 1, NWSC 1; others 11; independents and non-voting LegCo president 2
Judicial branch
Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Politics
Political Parties and Leaders: Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or ADPL [LIU Sung Lee]; Civic Party [Audrey EU Yuet-mee]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [TAM Yiu Cheng]; Democratic Party [Albert HO Chun-yan]; League of Social Democrats [Raymond WONG Yuk-man]; Liberal Party [Miriam LAU Kin-yee]; The Frontier (disbanded)
Others: Confederation of Trade Unions or CTU; Federation of Trade Unions or FTU; Neighborhood and Workers Service Center or NWSC
Note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - ADPL, Civic Party, Democratic Party, League of Social Democrats; pro-Beijing - DAB, Liberal Party, The Professional Forum (an informal group of three generally pro-government and pro-business LegCo members from functional constituencies and one independent elected from a geographic constituency); there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies
Political Pressure Groups and Leaders: Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Confederation of Trade Unions or CTU (pro-democracy) [LAU Chin-shek, president; LEE Cheuk-yan, general secretary]; Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Federation of Trade Unions or FTU (pro-China) [CHENG Yiu-tong, executive councilor]; Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China [Szeto WAH, chairman]; Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union [CHEUNG Man-kwong, president]; Neighborhood and Workers' Service Center or NWSC [LEUNG Yiu-chung, LegCo member] (pro-democracy); Civic Act-up [Cyd HO Sau-lan, LegCo member] (pro-democracy)
International Organization Participation: ADB, APEC, BIS, FATF, ICC, IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITUC, UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WFTU, WMO, WTO
Flag Description: red with a stylized, white, five-petal Bauhinia flower in the center; each petal contains a small, red, five-pointed star in its middle; the red color is the same as that on the Chinese flag and represents the motherland; the fragrant Bauhinia - developed in Hong Kong the late 19th century - has come to symbolize the region; the five stars echo those on the flag of China
Economy
Economy Overview: Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on international trade and finance - the value of goods and services trade, including the sizable share of re-exports, is about four times GDP. Hong Kong's open economy left it exposed to the global economic slowdown, but its increasing integration with China helped it recover from the downturn more quickly than many observers anticipated. Hong Kong over the past few years has become increasingly integrated with China through trade, tourism, and financial links. The Hong Kong government is promoting the Special Administrative Region (SAR) as the site for Chinese Renminbi (RMB) internationalization. Hong Kong residents are allowed to establish RMB-denominated savings accounts; RMB-denominated corporate and Chinese government bonds have been issued in Hong Kong; and RMB trade settlement is allowed. The government is pursuing efforts to introduce additional use of RMB in Hong Kong financial markets. The mainland has long been Hong Kong's largest trading partner, accounting for about half of Hong Kong's exports by value. As a result of China's easing of travel restrictions, the number of mainland tourists to the territory has surged from 4.5 million in 2001 to 17.7 million in 2009, outnumbering visitors from all other countries combined. Hong Kong has also established itself as the premier stock market for Chinese firms seeking to list abroad. About 40% of the firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange are now mainland Chinese companies. These firms account for 60% of the Exchange's market capitalization and over 70% of turnover. During the past decade, as Hong Kong's manufacturing industry moved to the mainland, its service industry has grown rapidly and in 2009 accounted for more than 90% of the territory's GDP. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. GDP growth averaged a strong 4% from 1989 to 2008. Hong Kong's GDP fell in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis, but a recovery began in third quarter 2009. Hong Kong continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining an arrangement established in 1983.
Gross Domestic Product
GDP (purchasing power parity): $301.8 billion (2009 est.) Rank: 39
GDP - real growth rate: -2.8% (2009 est.) Rank: 162
GDP - per capita (PPP): $42,800 (2009 est.) Rank: 15
GDP - Composition by Sector: Agriculture: 0.1% Industry: 8% Services: 91.9% (2009 est.)
Labor Force
Labor Force: 3.695 million (2009 est.) Rank: 91
Unemployment Rate: 5.3% (2009 est.) Rank: 48
Poverty
Population below poverty line: NA
Transnational Issues
International Disputes: none
