Joseph Li, the state-appointed archbishop of Beijing, will take a five-day trip to Hong Kong starting Nov 14 at the invitation of the city's newly appointed cardinal Stephen Chow, according to a statement from the Hong Kong diocese.

Chow made the invitation during his landmark trip to Beijing in April — the first visit to the Chinese capital by the city's bishop in nearly three decades — in a symbolic gesture that experts said could strengthen the fragile relationship between China and the Vatican.

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Chow's five-day trip, to start on April 17, follows an invitation last year by the Bishop of Beijing, Joseph Li Shan, the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese said in a statement on Thursday.

It cited Chow saying the visit "underscores the mission of the Diocese of Hong Kong to be a bridge....and promote exchanges and interactions between the two sides".

A Diocese spokesperson on Friday confirmed to Reuters that it will be the first time since 1994 - when Hong Kong was still a British colony - that a Hong Kong bishop has officially visited Beijing.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that China was not aware of Chow's upcoming visit.

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Zen was first arrested in May on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed National Security Law.

While Zen has not yet been charged with national security-related charges, he and the five others were charged with failing to properly register the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund.

The fund helped pay medical and legal fees for arrested protesters.

The fund was established in 2019 and ceased operations in October 2021.

Zen, alongside singer Denise Ho, scholar Hui Po Keung, and former pro-democracy lawmakers Margaret Ng and Cyd Ho, were trustees of the fund. They were each fined 4,000 Hong Kong dollars (NZD820).

A sixth defendant, Sze Ching-wee, was the fund's secretary and was fined HK$2500 (NZD512).

Cardinal Zen, who has long been a staunch advocate of democratic rights and freedoms and a critic of the Chinese Communist Party, stressed that the fund had aimed to help people in need.

"I'm just a Hong Kong citizen who strongly supports providing humanitarian assistance," he said after the verdict.

"Although I'm a religious figure, I hope this [case] won't be associated with our freedom of religion. It's not related."

The Societies Ordinance requires local organisations to register or apply for an exemption within a month of their establishment.

Those who failed to do so face a fine of up to HK$10,000 ($1,273), with no jail time, upon first conviction.

Handing down the verdict, Principal Magistrate Ada Yim ruled that the fund is considered an organisation that is obliged to register as it was not purely for charity purposes.

The judgement holds significance as it is the first time that residents had to face a charge under the ordinance for failing to register, Ng told reporters after the hearing.

"The effect to other people, to the many, many citizens who are associated together to do one thing or another, and what will happen to them, is very important," the veteran lawyer said.

"It is also extremely important about the freedom of association in Hong Kong under Societies Ordinance."

Even after this verdict, authorities could still take further action against Cardinal Zen and the other five as police investigate an accusation of "collusion with foreign forces".

Commenting on the sentence, Gianni Criveller in UCANews.com says: that many in Hong Kong consider it as an intimidation measure aimed at sending a warning to those who have believed and hoped in democracy.

Calling it "an unprecedented fact for Hong Kong", Criveller says the guilty sentence against a popular religious leader, an unprecedented fact for Hong Kong.

Balancing his "unprecedented" comment, Criveller also observes that the modest size of the fine suggests a low-profile way to close a story that was embarrassing for the Hong Kong police, judiciary and political authorities.

The Vatican had expressed concern for the safety of Cardinal Zen, though it stopped short of explicitly criticising authorities at the time.

Sources

• ABC
• AP News
• UCANews.com
• CathNews New Zealand

Officers from a 12-member police team stationed outside St John's Cathedral in central Hong Kong on the evening of 25 September captured video footage of churchgoers as they left the church premises, Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported on 27 September.

The measure was taken for the "public safety" of citizens, according to the Hong Kong police's media relations team, admitting people were filmed.

The team stated that it had deployed "appropriate manpower to maintain public order and ensure public safety".

Police officials also stated that officers "undertake filming … for internal review to continuously improve the management of and response to public events".

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Bishop Stephen Chow commented in the Sunday Examiner that these plants "are proofs of the amazing power of life that comes from the Creator. How can they grow up in such a tight and awkward environment?

"I can feel that Hong Kong, including our church, is becoming more like an existence within cracks," Chow said.

"We used to enjoy much space and freedom of expression when we could express our opinions in any way we like."

Hong Kong's new national security law came into effect in June 2020, imposing strict punishments for those accused of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external forces.

After the arrest of several high-profile pro-democracy activists including Cardinal Joseph Zen, Chow has urged the faithful to refrain from "reactive" instincts. Instead, followers should search for God amid the changing social landscape.

The Cardinal's arrest in May was connected to his work at the former entity, the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund. The fund used to provide financial assistance to pro-democracy campaigners to help cover their legal costs and medical bills.

Cardinal Zen was released on bail but his arrest sparked an international outcry from governments and human rights groups.

While some have opted to leave Hong Kong, others have stayed, Chow said, saying he made his own choice when he decided to accept his appointment as bishop of the territory.

"I want to share with you that the love and light of God can be found in all things, even cracks," he said, pointing to the image of flowers, trees, and shrubs that have grown up through cracks.

"They have demonstrated that nothing can prevent life from flourishing, adding colours, beauty and hope to our world," he said. "The tougher the condition, the more resilient life will be. Cracks can even widen in some cases."

Amid these circumstances, faith can be "an amazing engine that empowers our lives, individually and collectively, if we positively live out our faith," he said.

"However, if we only want to stick to the past, not ready to find God's guidance in the changing context, our lives will become bitter and sour. Darkness will take hold of us."

Chow insisted that accepting the changing reality and social situation "does not mean endorsing it" but rather finding a way forward by "learning to discern new possibilities with a creative mindset amid tensions from the changing context."

Sources

• Crux Now
• Christian Today

Cardinal Zen, 90, is one of four people detained for being associated with a now-defunct fund that helped protesters in financial need.

The fund was set up to offer legal advice, psychological counselling and emergency financial aid to those injured, arrested or jailed for their involvement in the mass pro-democracy demonstrations that swept Hong Kong in 2019.

Zen became the bishop of Hong Kong in 2002, a post he held until his retirement in 2009.

As bishop emeritus, Zen has been an outspoken voice as both a strong supporter of democracy and civil liberties in Hong Kong. He has also been a fierce critic of the Vatican's provisional agreement with Chinese authorities signed in 2018.

"It's a way to keep people in fear," Peter (not his real name), a Chinese Catholic, said of Zen's arrest.

Peter said that he saw the election of John Lee as the new Hong Kong chief executive on May 8 as a key reason behind the arrest of the 90-year-old Catholic cardinal and others.

He suggested it was a gesture from Lee "that shows that he's loyal to the party and he's going to be tough on forces that are against the party."

"So [Lee] wants to demonstrate that he is loyal" to Beijing and, at the same time, that "he is a man of action," he said. He added there is a Chinese proverb that goes something like "a new governor has to show his muscle and strength."

"This probably foretells that in the future, Hong Kong will become less free, more controlled," Peter said. "And the Catholic Church in Hong Kong as an organised institution will be carefully, closely watched."

Lee is a baptised Catholic who formerly served as Hong Kong's security chief and "played a leading role in the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests," according to the Eurasia Group.

Lee will officially begin his five-year term on July 1, succeeding Carrie Lam, another Catholic, who held the post since 2017.

Other Chinese Catholics have expressed both fear and sadness at Zen's arrest.

"Cardinal Zen is known as a voice of truth," another anonymous Chinese Catholic told CNA.

The source said that the cardinal was seen as someone unafraid to share what is happening to the Catholic community rather than "repeating what someone else has told him to say."

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Catholic News Service

The Australian

BBC

The Church says the political repression of those demanding democratic rights in the China-administered region is wrong.

Hong Kong police arrested 15 pro-democracy activists last weekend, including former legislators because of their roles in Hong Kong's mass protests last year.

They have all released on bail but will appear in court on 16 May.

The Hong Kong diocese's Justice and Peace Commission says the arrests in the city-state, which functions under the Chinese communist regime, was part of "political repression."

All arrests should be stopped until an independent commission of inquiry and its subsequent report has been issued, the Justice and Peace Commission says.

So far, Police have arrested about 7,000 people in connection with riots and violence since the pro-democracy protests began last June.

Most are young students.

However, the latest arrests included former legislators, including 81-year-old Martin Lee, a former barrister, legislator and founder of the Democratic Party.

The Justice and Peace Commission has asked the government to repeal the Public Order Ordinance.

This law, enacted during Hong Kong's British colonial rule, considers more than three people gathering without Police permission as "unauthorized."

The repealing of the 1967 law, which has been amended 26 times, is needed to "restore Hong Kong people's freedom of procession and assembly," the Justice and Peace Commission says.

It also asked police to "return the mobile phones of all arrested persons to ensure their privacy."

The latest police move is considered the biggest crackdown on the pro-democracy movement since the anti-government protests started last June.

The pro-democracy activists were protesting against the now-scrapped extradition bill, which proposed sending suspects to mainland China for trial.

Democracy activists saw the bill as the latest of a series of moves that were shrinking their democratic rights.

An official of the Security Bureau told media that they acted after an investigation proved that the arrested people had violated the law because they organized and participated in unlawful gatherings.

All people are equal before the law and no one can break the law without facing the consequences, he says.

Many activists suspect the arrests are part of the Chinese communist regime's aim to stifle this September's legislative elections.

"They are doing whatever they can to try to silence, to take down, the local opposition," one says.

The US, Britain and Australia have condemned the arrests.

Source

• UCA News
• The Tablet
• Image: Al Jazeera