Cardinal Joseph Zen: The Stakes of Cardinal Zen’s Trial

Hong Kong’s Cardinal Joseph Zen, and five others, were put on trial yesterday morning, 9:30 a.m. local time, at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ court. Charged with the relatively minor offense of failing as trustees to properly register an aid fund for pro-democracy demonstrators, they pleaded not guilty. This should not be confused with a separate, ongoing investigation of Zen on accusations of colluding with foreigner powers under the territory’s vague national-security law, which could bring him a life sentence. The charge before the court now is punishable by a fine, not a prison term.

Nevertheless, Zen’s arrest is widely understood as political — a reprisal for his vocal opposition to the regime’s crackdown on religious rights and democratic freedoms. The aid fund under consideration by the court today was linked to such dissent. Even under Mao, the Chinese Communist Party never forced a Chinese Catholic cardinal to stand trial on political charges. Now, this persecution of the venerable cardinal, who is 90 years old and the veritable face of the Chinese Catholic Church, comes as negotiations are underway for the renewal of the Sino–Vatican agreement on the appointment of bishops and must be seen in that context.

About the Author

Nina Shea

Nina Shea is director of Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and author of the new report “Ten Persecuted Catholic Bishops in China”

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Hong Kong’s Cardinal Joseph Zen, and five others, were put on trial yesterday morning, 9:30 a.m. local time, at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ court. Charged with the relatively minor offense of failing as trustees to properly register an aid fund for pro-democracy demonstrators, they pleaded not guilty. This should not be confused with a separate, ongoing investigation of Zen on accusations of colluding with foreigner powers under the territory’s vague national-security law, which could bring him a life sentence. The charge before the court now is punishable by a fine, not a prison term.

Nevertheless, Zen’s arrest is widely understood as political — a reprisal for his vocal opposition to the regime’s crackdown on religious rights and democratic freedoms. The aid fund under consideration by the court today was linked to such dissent. Even under Mao, the Chinese Communist Party never forced a Chinese Catholic cardinal to stand trial on political charges. Now, this persecution of the venerable cardinal, who is 90 years old and the veritable face of the Chinese Catholic Church, comes as negotiations are underway for the renewal of the Sino–Vatican agreement on the appointment of bishops and must be seen in that context.