"My university has been turned into a fortress". This was the title of an interview with Tobias Brandner published by the NZZ this Thursday. The Swiss theologian and staff member of Mission 21, Dr. Tobias Brandner, is the only Western teacher at the Divinity School of Chung Chi College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In the interview, Tobias Brandner describes the difficult situation at the university. Also at this university there were clashes between demonstrators and the police.
Tobias Brandner rejects the violence. And he emphasizes that the approximately 250 students of the theological Divinity School want a peaceful solution: "My theology students are not joining in. They support the movement out of solidarity, but they are shocked, just like me, by these outbreaks of student violence." That's why they get involved in a practical way, distributing food or cleaning up trash, he says.
In the interview, he expresses concern that the confrontations are fueling the spiral of violence and will not bring a solution for Hong Kong. But a political solution is needed, he explains, otherwise Hong Kong will not come to peace.
Cosmopolitan and ecumenical theology
The Divinity School has been part of the Chinese University of Hong Kong since 1963 and is thus an integral part of a public university as a theological school. The seminary and interdisciplinary exchanges foster the development of a critical, cosmopolitan, and ecumenical theology that builds bridges to other religions and cultures. Faculty, students, and alumni participate in progressive movements for justice and democracy.
Tobias Brandner has worked as a full-time lecturer at the school since 2009. In many ways, he raises students' awareness that the church should place people on the margins of society at the center of its work. Mission 21 supports the work of the Divinity School and its bridging function through Tobias Brandner's lectureship.
â–º Read the interview in the NZZ online
â–º Project Info: "University education for a China in transition".
