[ad_1]
Even earlier than the arrest this week of its former high cleric, Hong Kong’s Catholic church had been worrying in regards to the impact of the Chinese language territory’s sweeping nationwide safety legislation.
Native Catholic leaders not too long ago determined to cancel annual commemorations of China’s bloody crushing of protests in Tiananmen Sq. in 1989 for worry of violating the legislation imposed by Beijing two years in the past, in keeping with church insiders.
The cancellation of this yr’s commemorative plenty on June 4 underscores the chilling impact that Hong Kong’s intensifying political crackdown has already had even inside spiritual communities.
However the arrest on Wednesday of Cardinal Joseph Zen has despatched new shockwaves by the town simply days after hardliner and former safety chief John Lee, himself a Catholic, was confirmed as its subsequent chief.
It’s also prone to gas divisions inside the Catholic church about how to reply to growing political repression in Hong Kong.
Police have accused Zen of colluding with overseas forces, an offence below the 2020 safety legislation. The 90-year-old former bishop of Hong Kong is an outspoken human rights campaigner and was arrested together with 4 different trustees of a fund set as much as assist pay the authorized and medical charges of individuals in citywide pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019.
Monks and senior lay folks within the Hong Kong church stated that the focusing on of the cardinal, who was launched on bail on Wednesday evening, had deeply saddened Catholics within the metropolis.
“When he was arrested I used to be actually shocked . . . I feel there will likely be extra suppression of the church in Hong Kong sooner or later,” stated one, who like different church insiders declined to be recognized for worry of repercussions from metropolis authorities.
The Hong Kong church has for greater than 20 years commemorated the crushing by Chinese language troops of student-led protests centred on Tiananmen Sq. on June 4 1989. However final yr Hong Kong cops have been seen standing outdoors church doorways holding video cameras.
“It’s not a secure time for us to carry the mass in public,” stated one individual concerned in cancelling this yr’s commemorations. “We’ve safety issues, as a result of the political scenario is getting tense.”
One priest stated that this yr “we is not going to point out June 4. However it is going to be in our hearts”.
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s outgoing chief government, is a Catholic, and her successor Lee stated final week that he nonetheless believed within the teachings he obtained as a toddler at a Jesuit faculty in Kowloon, Hong Kong.
However requested by the Monetary Occasions about Zen’s arrest, which was condemned by human rights teams and governments together with the US, Canada and UK, Lee made clear that Catholic credentials could be no safety for these accused of violating the safety legislation. “Motion will likely be taken accordingly whatever the individual’s background,” Lee stated.
It was Lee who oversaw the introduction of the legislation in a earlier function as safety secretary. The Beijing-backed former policeman was formally confirmed as Hong Kong’s subsequent chief on Sunday and will likely be sworn in on July 1.
“[Zen’s arrest] has additionally despatched out a warning that even spiritual leaders . . . can’t be exempted from penalties below the legislation simply due to their standing,” stated Lau Siu-kai, from the Chinese language Affiliation of Hong Kong and Macau Research, a Beijing-based think-tank.
The Hong Kong church stated it was “extraordinarily involved”. “We urge the Hong Kong police and the judicial authorities to deal with Cardinal Zen’s case in accordance with justice,” the town diocese stated. “We’ve all the time upheld the rule of legislation. We belief that sooner or later we are going to proceed having fun with spiritual freedom in Hong Kong.”
Present bishop of Hong Kong Stephen Chow, who was appointed final yr, has not taken any public stance on the safety legislation.
Nevertheless, the cardinal’s arrest is prone to widen divisions within the Hong Kong church between pro-democracy campaigners resembling Zen and others who both supported the federal government or believed that the church shouldn’t be concerned in politics.
Professional-democracy activists have accused the church of siding with the latter camp, with many citing a diplomatic deal in 2018 by which the Vatican agreed that Beijing ought to have a say within the appointment of bishops in China.
Within the newest incident, a diocesan administrator tendered their resignation over a posting on the “Catholic Method” Fb web page on April 27. The publish, which was rapidly deleted, summarised a tv interview by which a neighborhood priest accused China of making an attempt to regulate faith in Hong Kong. The diocese stated the administrator had resigned of their very own accord.
The police investigation of the 612 Humanitarian Reduction Fund, of which Zen was a trustee and which supported pro-democracy protesters, may even have implications for Hong Kong’s authorized system.
Police stated on Thursday that they’d complained to the Bar Affiliation and Regulation Society about alleged misconduct by unnamed legal professionals who took on the fund’s instances.
“Legal investigation additionally revealed that quite a few solicitors and barristers have been suspected {of professional} misconduct when offering authorized companies,” police stated.
“It’s apparent [the authorities] have commenced focusing on legal professionals who’re offering assist to political prisoners in Hong Kong,” stated Eric Yan-ho Lai of the Georgetown Middle for Asian Regulation. “Authorized representatives shouldn’t be intimidated for who they symbolize.”
One Hong Kong priest stated that no space of life within the metropolis would escape the tightening of political controls.
“For those who ask whether or not [local] clergymen at the moment are extra nervous in regards to the safety legislation . . . I’d inform you that everybody in Hong Kong is anxious in regards to the legislation,” he stated.
[ad_2]
Source link
