Cardinal Joseph Zen, the former Bishop of Hong Kong, has been convicted and fined for failing to register a relief fund for pro-democracy protesters.
The 90-year-old cardinal was found guilty along with five others. Five defendants including Zen were trustees of the now-defunct 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, and were each fined HK$4,000 ($512). The sixth, the fund’s secretary, was fined HK$2,500 ($320).
Principal Magistrate Ada Yim ruled that the fund was not exempt from Hong Kong’s societies ordinance, which requires organisations to register with the authorities within a month of their establishment, as it was not for exclusively “charitable” purposes.
The 612 fund helped to pay the medical and legal fees of protesters injured and arrested during pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019.
All six defendants pleaded not guilty, but did not testify or call witnesses during the trial.
Following the verdict one of the group, the lawyer Margaret Ng, said that this was the first time that Hong Kongers had been convicted on this charge under the ordinance, Reuters reported.
“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,” she said.
Speaking outside the court, Cardinal Zen said that the case was not pertinent to Hong Kong’s religious freedom.
“I’m just a Hong Kong citizen who strongly supports providing humanitarian assistance,” he said.
“Although I’m a religious figure, I hope this won’t be associated with our freedom of religion. It’s not related.”
Zen was first arrested in May on charges of “foreign collusion” under Hong Kong’s maligned National Security Law, introduced in July 2020. These related to the activities of the 612 fund, which had ceased to operate in October 2021.
However, after being released on bail Zen and his fellow defendants were instead charged with failing to register the fund correctly. Investigations into alleged collusion are reportedly ongoing.
The trial began on 26 September, but was adjourned after two days. Defence questions to the prosecution’s witnesses were overruled as irrelevant. It resumed on 26 October.
The Vatican expressed “concern” at the time of the arrest but has not intervened publicly since then. Events coincided with negotiations for the renewal of the 2018 provisional agreement between the Beijing and the Holy See concerning the appointment of bishops to the Church in China – an agreement roundly condemned by Zen when it was first concluded.
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