In the Philippine city of Manila, from the 23rd to the 29th of November 1970, 180 bishops from all over Asia gathered for what has been called the Asian Bishops' Meeting. St. Pope Paul VI was with them for the last days of the meeting. It was at this meeting that the bishops authorized and supported the establishment of a permanent structure for the bishops. They formed the Central Committee of the Asian Bishops and called for its first meeting in Hong Kong in March 1971 under Bishop Francis Xavier HSU Chen-Ping of Hong Kong. From this, the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) had its beginning.