The Pope Abandons Cardinal Zen

It was a Saturday morning in July 1997, one week after Hong Kong was handed back to China. Cardinal Joseph Zen was waiting inside the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, all smiles. He was there to baptize his friend and the founder of Apple Daily, Jimmy Lai. I was there as Jimmy’s godfather.

We were a happy little band that day. But today, 25 years later, Jimmy has been imprisoned. And 90-year old Cardinal Zen, who was arrested in May by national-security police, is about to be put on trial.

The trial of the cardinal and five others involved with the now-defunct 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund was supposed to start Monday but was postponed until at least Wednesday because the judge came down with Covid. The 612 fund was set up to help pay legal costs for those arrested in the 2019-20 pro-democracy demonstrations. Prosecutors claim the fund wasn’t registered properly under Hong Kong’s Societies Ordinance—a law frequently used against triads, or secret societies. Conviction carries a fine of about $1,300.

One question is whether the authorities will be satisfied with a fine. Originally the defendants were arrested for collusion with foreign forces, which can carry a life sentence. A guilty finding would feed a narrative that these people were fundraising illegally to undermine China.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pope-abandons-his-own-francis-cardinal-joseph-zen-hong-kong-trial-democracy-sino-vatican-accord-prison-11663616756?mod=djemalertNEWS