The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Hong Kong warmly welcomed thirteen delegates from the PRC Religious Bureau on August 10th 2006. The purpose of their visit was to meet and get a better understanding of the Bahá’í community of Hong Kong. A warm lunch was arranged followed by a reception at the Bahá’í Hall where 8 members of the Spiritual Assembly were present, along with other members of the community.
The reception kicked off with a warm Welcome speech by Mrs Fong Yuk Lan, followed by some prayers by Samantha and Hanson Datwani. The children performed exceptionally well, especially Hanson, who recited the China Tablet by Abdul-Bahá. The Spiritual Assembly members were then introduced. Soon after some short speeches were made by Mr Zhang Xun Mou and Dr. Dai Chenjing from the Religious Bureau.
Spiritual Assembly member Rosalie Tran then proceeded with a presentation about the history of the Hong Kong Bahá’í community. The present development and activities of the Bahá’ís of Hong Kong were presented on Power Point on the screen. Gifts were exchanged and photos were taken followed by refreshments. During the refreshment period, many of the friends got a chance to mingle with the delegation on a personal level, which was very interesting. The atmosphere was relaxed, and surprisingly, the delegation was a group of young, vibrant highly educated individuals. Most of them had PhD’s from prestigious universities. After the reception, a group of the delegation along with some friends went sightseeing. Unfortunately the weather was rather misty and not much could be seen but the spirit of the group was energetic and lively.
The day ended with a Peking Duck meal, where more interaction and chitchats took place. Overall the event was a success and we hope to continue such opportunities in the future.
A loud thank you to all the friends who helped plan this event, special thanks to the main coordinators Rosalie Tran and Kenneth Lo, Daya & Choy; as well as Nemia and Veam who all very kindly assisted with the setting up of the Bahá’í and Power-point.