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Cardinal Joseph Zen and three others were reportedly arrested for providing legal aid to people who took part in the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Authorities in Hong Kong arrested and then released on bail a Roman Catholic cardinal and a popular singer who were involved in the territory’s pro-democracy protests in 2019, according to reports.
Cardinal Joseph Zen and pop singer Denise Ho, as well as lawyer Margaret Ng and scholar Hui Po-keung, were reportedly arrested by Hong Kong’s National Security Police on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces to endanger China’s national security, according to reports.
The arrests were apparently related to their roles as trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which provided legal aid to people who took part in Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests, the UK-based human rights group Hong Kong Watch said on Wednesday.
Local media reported late Wednesday that Cardinal Zen, 90, who is a former bishop of Hong Kong and one of the most senior Catholic clerics in the territory, was released on bail. In a video posted on Twitter, the cardinal is seen waving to reporters as he leaves a police station. Cantonese pop singer Denise Ho was similarly released on bail, local media said.
The Vatican said earlier on Wednesday that it was concerned about reports that the retired cleric had been arrested in Hong Kong.
“The Holy See has learned the news of Cardinal Zen’s arrest with concern and is following the development of the situation very closely,” the Vatican said in a brief statement.
Two legal sources told the AFP news agency that scholar Hui Po-keung was arrested on Tuesday at Hong Kong’s airport on his way to take up an academic post in Europe.
Hong Kong authorities have yet to confirm the arrests or release of the five.
“We condemn the arrests of these activists whose alleged” crime “was funding legal aid for pro-democracy protestors back in 2019.” @benedictrogers https://t.co/esWup7PHR1
– Hong Kong Watch (@hk_watch) May 11, 2022
“Today’s arrests signal beyond a doubt that Beijing intends to intensify its crackdown on basic rights and freedoms in Hong Kong,” Benedict Rogers, Hong Kong Watch’s chief executive, said in a statement.
“We urge the international community to shine a light on this brutal crackdown and call for the immediate release of these activists.”
Many pro-democracy activists have been arrested under a sweeping National Security Law imposed on the city by Beijing in 2020.
The White House also called for the immediate release of the detainees.
White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the US is calling on authorities in China and Hong Kong “to cease targeting Hong Kong’s advocates and to immediately release those who have been unjustly detained and charged, like Cardinal Joseph Zen, and other ”.
The 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund disbanded last year after the city’s national security police demanded it hand over operational details, including information about its donors and beneficiaries.
Zen has also been critical of the Vatican’s decision to reach a compromise with Beijing over the appointment of bishops on the Chinese mainland and is a well-known advocate of Hong Kong’s democracy movement.
“Even by Hong Kong’s recent standards of worsening repression, these arrests represent a shocking escalation. Some of the most respected pro-democracy figures, whose activism has always been entirely peaceful, are now potentially facing years in jail, ”Amnesty International said in a statement on Wednesday.
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