HONG KONG (UCAN): Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun, 90, former bishop of Hong Kong, went on trial on September 26 alongside five others over their role in a fund meant to help defend people arrested during the 2019 anti-government protests.
The cardinal was originally detained earlier this year under the city’s National Security Law, but police have not yet charged him with a national security offence.
Instead, he and his fellow defendants, including activist and singer, Denise Ho, and veteran human rights barrister, Margaret Ng, are being prosecuted for the less serious offence of failing to properly register their defence fund under Hong Kong’s Societies Ordinance, which dates back to 1911.
If convicted they face a fine of up to $10,000 but no jail time. All have pleaded not guilty.
The group acted as trustees of the now-defunct 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund that helped pay legal and medical costs for those arrested during massive and sometimes violent protests.
The fund disbanded after national security police demanded it hand over operational details, including information about its donors and beneficiaries.
On September 26, prosecutors revealed the fund had raised as much as $270 million from 103,000 donations by the time it closed an claimed that “part of the fund was used for political activities and non-charity events,” including donations to protest groups and activists overseas.
The defence argued that the fund’s political views were irrelevant to the charge of whether it had registered correctly.
The Vatican had responded to the cardinal’s arrest, saying “it was concerned and was following the development of the situation very closely.”
The Hong Kong government says prosecutors are simply following the law. The trial is expected to conclude in early November.
