Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen appeared in court this morning, denying the alleged failure to register a humanitarian fund to support pro-democracy protesters.
Prominent figure in the Asian Catholic Church, 90-year-old Zen, was arrested in early May, along with other pro-democracy figures — including singer Denise Ho and lawyer Margaret Ng — under the territory’s national security law, and was released on bail the same day.
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The defendants appeared in court in West Kowloon on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty. The trial begins on September 19.
After leaving the hearing, Joseph Zen did not respond to reporters’ questions, according to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post.
Hong Kong Vicar General Joseph Chan attended the session, although he said he did not represent the diocese.
“He was my teacher, that’s why I came,” he told AFP, adding that he was very worried about the Catholic’s health.
The group managed a now-defunct fund that offered to pay the legal and medical expenses of some pro-democracy protesters in the 2019 Hong Kong protests.
They were arrested for “conspiring with foreign forces”a charge that carries a life sentence under the national security law.
However, so far the court has only received the accusation of not registering the Humanitarian Aid Fund 612 with the police, a crime that will not be prosecuted by national security legislation and that implies the payment of a maximum fine of ten thousand Hong Kong dollars (1,190 euros)refers to AFP.
The investigation into the constitution of this fund began after one of the administrators, academician Hui Po-keung, was arrested at the airport when he was about to leave for Europe, where he would take up a teaching position.
The arrest of Cardinal Zen provoked the indignation of the international community, which accuses China of ending freedoms once enjoyed by Hong Kong.
Source: Observadora
