Hong Kong police have arrested one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia and four others who had been helping pro-Democracy protestors.
They charged 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen and his fellow accused with “colluding with foreign forces.”
Officers confiscated their passports before releasing them on bail.
All five were trustees of a humanitarian relief fund which helped protestors who were arrested during pro-Democracy and anti-China protests in 2019.
The fund was disbanded last year as police investigated whether it violated a Beijing-backed new security law imposed in 2020.
Those convicted of ‘collusion with foreign forces’ could be jailed for life.
The Vatican voiced its concern over the arrest of Cardinal Zen and said it was following developments with “extreme attention.”
The Wall Street Journal says the arrest underscores that China wants to deter anyone from assisting in the defence of political prisoners in Hong Kong and defence lawyers may be next.
It says there’s no doubt the main political target is Cardinal Zen who’s been an outspoken critic of China’s religious persecution.
He has also criticised the Vatican for its 2018 agreement with Beijing that requires that bishops be acceptable to the atheist Communist leadership.
Cardinal Zen called the secret pact “selling out the Catholic Church in China.”
