The early development of church education in Hong Kong and Taiwan

Millions of Chinese have gone on to the other side of the veil since the dedication of China by President Mackay in 1921. The progress of the Church in Asia stayed dormant for the next thirty years. In 1949, many refugees came to Hong Kong from China to start a new life. That same year Hong Kong was officially dedicated to become a mission area. After the Korean War, the Church returned to Hong Kong and started laying a firm foundation for its future. The political instability and the difficult economic situation due to the influx of refugees in the late 50’s made it difficult for the members to take roots in the gospel soil. Lives were hard and many members had to scrape by. However, church membership continued to grow. The introduction of Church Education Program in 1973 served as a milestone in helping the young members understand the scriptures and strengthen their testimonies. Many of them had later become local missionaries. Among whom was Joseph Wan Kan-Leung who later played an important role in Church Education among the Chinese.

In early 1973, Brother Frank D. Day from church Educational System headquarters in Salt Lake was sent to Southern East Asia to lay the groundwork for a full religious education program. One of his assistants, Brother Alan Hassel, was appointed to work among the Chinese with 29 students in Taiwan and 31 students in Hong Kong. The work was slow due to lack of proper study materials which had to be translated by temporary translators. The study materials were first translated into Chinese. They were then written on ink paper and printed on stencil before distributed to students.

In the early stage institute classes were held to accommodate all adults aged 18 to 60, while seminary classes followed the standard enrollment policy, admitting only youths aged 14 to 18. Both seminary and institute classes were held in local chapels, usually once a week, sometimes on Sundays. Students had to pay a small fee to enroll. The money helped pay part of the student materials printing cost. Student committee was also organized to make it possible for student to get together occasionally in social activities. There were 64 students in Taiwan and 122 in Hong Kong at the end of 1973.

The first class under Church Educational System was instituted in the fall of 1973. There were 31 adult students enrolled and the course material studied was the seminary Book of Mormon student manual. It was held in the Kam Tong Hall on the Hong Kong Island, a property that the Church had acquired earlier for worshipping purpose. The course was so successful that the following year ten teachers were called to teach what was then the gospel study class (Seminary) and six other teachers to teach the adult class (Institute of Religion). In 1978 Andy Ning left Hong Kong for the United States with his family. Brother Joseph Wan Kan-Leung was therefore assigned to oversee the work in both Taiwan and Hong Kong. Two full-time employees were added to the system to assist Brother Wan in supervising the districts in Taiwan: Wang Lu-Pao in the north and Lee Ting-Kwan in the south. From then on Brother Wan stationed in Hong Kong and travelled to Taiwan every other month to hold teachers training. The Church Educational System Area Office was situated in the basement of Kam Tong Hall.

It is not to assume that things went well ever since without encountering any obstacles. Not so indeed! The Church in Hong Kong had her own share of ups and downs in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Seminary enrollment at one time declined by 5%. In 1982 only 62% of institute potential enrolled. However, the gentle hand of the Lord pushed his work further in 1984. Church Educational System moved the office to a centralized location in the metropolitan Mongkok of Kowloon. The convenience of the location made it possible to have different classes held at the same time. Institute enrollment increased to 83% of the student potential in 1984.

The work of church education grew steadily from an infant stage to one that would help fulfill the missions of the Church among the Chinese. Subsequently Tim K. Kwok and Patrick Cheuk were hired in 1987 and 1989 respectively as full time coordinators to cope with the raped expansion of the program. In 1989, due to the substantial efforts of Church Educational System personnel and priesthood leaders, nine daily seminary classes were established with 73 students participating. In 1994, Joseph Wan left for the US with his family, and with Tim K. Kwok appointed as the Director for the Asia area, Patrick Cheuk was assigned as the Country Director of Hong Kong. One of the voluntary teachers, Ammon Ng, was hired full-time as a coordinator to assist in the growth of the work of church education.

1. To some members the year 1978 was one to remember. Under the direction of the priesthood leaders about 300 institute students from Taiwan and Hong Kong gathered in Shi Tau in central Taiwan. Some 80 Hong Kong members led by Brother Tong Ling and Sister Wong Kam-Ping (now Mrs Ling) joined their counterparts from the ‘beautiful island’ for a 3-day single adults conference. The conference helped strengthen the students’ testimony and enlarged their horizon. Some later became eternal companions, while others, powerful missionaries.
2. The long awaited Taiwan Temple, the first among the Chinese, was dedicated in November 1982. On the day of dedication a 60-member Hong Kong choir was invited to sing at the dedicatory meeting, most of them were institute students who had attended the 1978 student activity in Taiwan.
3. A 3-day youth conference was organized by CES and the then four stakes in summer 1990. It was first of its kind with workshops, activities and lots of fun. Over 150 seminary students attended. They were taught how to prepare socially, intellectually, physically and spiritually for effective service in the Church.