“The spirit of humanity is to cherish life, love life and progress in life.”
 

Respect each individual life
Human beings’ capabilities are dwarfed in the face of death. Everyone would want a dignified burial for their deceased loved ones and conclude the final affair in the best possible way. In 2017, a couple who had a miscarriage after the 15th week of pregnancy sought Rev Chan’s assistance to fulfill their only wish - to claim the remains of their baby for burial. However, under Hong Kong’s law, the remains of a miscarried fetus under 24 weeks will be disposed as medical waste. Not only did this arrangement fail to respect miscarried babies and did not treat them as a human life. Worse still, parents who had only just lost their baby would also suffer from this secondary trauma. Amendment to the legislation is lengthy and time consuming, but with his care for the parents and respect for the little one at heart, Rev Chan continuously liaised with various government departments in hopes of finding a plausible solution as soon as possible to alleviate the parents’ suffering.

At the end, consensus amongst various government departments was reached in merely one month, parents could claim the remains of miscarried fetuses and legally bury them in Chai Wan Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery. The place was named as “Angel Garden”, signifying that miscarried fetuses would become angels and enter the kingdom of heaven under the melody of “Song of Joy".

Timely assistance to family of the deceased
The meaning of life does not depend on its length. Many of the parents with miscarried babies had lost their loved ones before they could bid farewell. Burying the miscarried fetuses decently is not only out of respect, but it is also a kind of cure for parents with psychological trauma. During the course of bidding farewell, parents would gradually begin to accept the fact that their baby had passed away, and learn to start afresh.
 

In recent years, more and more organizations are offering burial services of miscarried fetuses for families of various religious backgrounds or even for those without a religious background. Rev Chan envisaged that Angel Garden could raise the awareness of the public concerning the respect of life, and caring for the family of the deceased. He would also continue with his work to educate, promote and publicize the issue proactively to gain more support for related services.