Cardinal Zen in court for defending democracy in Hong Kong

25th May 2022

Cardinal Joseph Zen, the 90 year-old former bishop of Hong Kong, and five others have pleaded not guilty to charges over an alleged failure to officially register a banned pro-democracy fund with the local communist authorities after the Chinese Government cracked down on democracy in the once British-ruled territory. Cardinal Zen is an outspoken critic of the regime in Beijing. He has also criticised an unpublished agreement between the Holy See and Beijing which gives the Chinese Communist Party a say over who is made a Catholic bishop in China.

The trustees and secretary of the fund were arrested under the Beijing-imposed national security law two weeks ago on suspicion of ‘colluding’ with foreign forces. They were all released on police bail without charge except for one who is serving a prison term for a banned pro-democracy event in October 2019.

Tuesday’s court hearing saw dozens of residents line up for seats in the public gallery. Consulate staff representing numerous countries such as the US, Britain, Australia, Germany, France, Austria and Ireland, as well as representatives from the European Union Office, also attended the hearing.

The principal magistrate ordered all parties to return to court on August 9 for a pre-trial review, while the official five-day trial is set to take place between September 19 and 23.