Hong Kong: Cardinal Joseph Zen arrested

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Hong Kong Bishop Emeritus Joseph Zen (July 2012): arrested by police

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Kin Cheung/AP

Retired Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen and three other members of the pro-democracy movement have been arrested for alleged violations of the controversial national "security law".

This is reported, among others, by the newspaper "South China Morning Post" and the news agency Reuters.

In addition to Cardinal Zen, former opposition MP Margaret Ng and singer Denise Ho were arrested by Hong Kong police for alleged "collusion with foreign forces".

The three were among five trustees of a relief fund set up to provide financial support to activists involved in the 2019 anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

The police apparently arrested a fourth trustee on Tuesday.

The Vatican is monitoring the situation

The 90-year-old Zen has long campaigned for democratic causes in Hong Kong and mainland China.

He has spoken out against China's increasing authoritarianism under President Xi Jinping and the harassment of Christians in China.

The Vatican expressed concern.

"The Holy See learned with concern of Cardinal Zen's arrest and is following developments with the greatest attention," spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

Hong Kong is one of the most important places for Catholics in Asia.

There are also aid organizations and missions that support Catholics in mainland China, among others.

In the summer of 2020, Beijing passed a draconian national "security law" for its special administrative region of Hong Kong, which severely curtails the political rights of the population.

Since then, many supporters of the opposition have either been arrested, retired from politics or fled abroad.

ptz/dpa/Reuters/AP