Hong Kong police bail Catholic cardinal arrested on countrywide protection charge
Local police stated in a announcement that the countrywide protection branch of the police pressure had arrested guys and women, starting from forty five to ninety years vintage for "collusion with overseas forces" on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of the maximum senior Catholic clerics in Asia, and 3 others who helped run a now-disbanded Hong Kong fund for protesters had been arrested on costs of “collusion with overseas forces,” and later launched on bail.
Zen, a ninety-12 months-vintage former bishop of Hong Kong, changed into puzzled for numerous hours on Wednesday on the Chai Wan Police Station near his church residence, earlier than being launched on police bail. The silver-haired Zen, sporting a white clerical collar, left with out making any remark to the media.
Local police stated in a announcement that the countrywide protection branch of the police pressure had arrested guys and women, starting from forty five to ninety years vintage for “collusion with overseas forces” on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Police stated they had been suspected of inquiring for overseas sanctions. All had been launched on bail with their passports confiscated beneathneath the countrywide protection regulation, police stated.
A felony supply acquainted with the problem had in advance instructed Reuters that 5 human beings were arrested in reference to the case: Zen; senior barrister Margaret Ng, 74; activist and pa singer Denise Ho; former lawmaker Cyd Ho; and previous educational Hui Po-keung.
Zen has lengthy been an advise of democratic reasons in Hong Kong and mainland China, and has spoken out towards China’s developing authoritarianism beneathneath President Xi Jinping, which include a Beijing-imposed countrywide protection regulation, and the persecution of a few Roman Catholics in China.
Hui were arrested on the airport on Tuesday night, in line with media reports, whilst Cyd Ho changed into already in jail over a separate case.
The 5 had been trustees of the “612 Humanitarian Relief Fund” which helped protesters who were arrested for the duration of pro-democracy, anti-China protests in 2019 to assist pay their felony and clinical fees.
Vatican concerned
Hong Kong has lengthy been one of the maximum crucial Catholic beachheads in Asia, domestic to an intensive community of useful resource agencies, pupils and missions which have supported Catholics in mainland China and elsewhere.
Beijing imposed the sweeping countrywide protection regulation in June 2020 that punishes terrorism, collusion with overseas forces, subversion and secession with feasible lifestyles imprisonment.
The Vatican stated on Wednesday it had discovered of the arrest of Zen in Hong Kong “with concern” and changed into following developments “with excessive attention”.
Reuters changed into now no longer capable of without delay attain the others for remark. The Hong Kong Catholic Diocese gave no on the spot remark.
The “612 Humanitarian Relief Fund” changed into scrapped closing 12 months after the disbandment of a business enterprise that had helped get hold of donations via a financial institution account.
The arrests come after police stated closing September that that they'd started investigating the fund for alleged violations of the countrywide protection regulation.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre referred to as on China and Hong Kong government to end focused on Hong Kong advocates and to without delay launch those “unjustly detained and charged,” which include Zen.
“All I can let you know is that I assume we’re an increasing number of bothered with the aid of using steps in Hong Kong to strain and put off civil society,” U.S. Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell instructed a separate occasion in Washington while requested approximately the arrests.
Hui, an companion cultural research professor at Lingnan University, had as soon as taught exiled democracy activist Nathan Law.
“If you need to punish someone, you may constantly locate an excuse,” Law wrote on his Facebook web page in reaction to Hui’s arrest.
Critics, which include the United States, say the safety regulation erodes the freedoms promised with the aid of using China beneathneath a “one country, systems” association while Hong Kong changed into back from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
Hong Kong government, however, say the regulation has introduced balance to the metropolis after the 2019 mass demonstrations.
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