In Hong Kong, the Catholic Church in the crosshairs of Beijing – Liberation

After the arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen in early May in Hong Kong, the Catholic Church fears to be the next target of the campaign of repression led by Beijing since the promulgation of a national security law in 2020. Zen, former bishop of 90, was charged on Tuesday with failing to properly register a legal aid fund for arrested dissidents. At the beginning of May, the cardinal and the four other managers of this fund were arrested for “conspiracy of collusion with foreign forces”, a charge that falls under national security law and for which they have not yet been prosecuted.

The arrest of one of Asia’s top Catholic dignitaries has sparked a stir in a city of 500,000 Catholics. But the Vatican was content to express its “worry”. This timid reaction has revived the debates around the strategy of rapprochement with China led by the Holy See since the signing of an agreement on the appointment of bishops in 2018. Coming to an end in September, this pact, the content of which was ever revealed, is being renegotiated.

“Hope does not speak”

Joseph Zen is one of its fiercest detractors. Originally from Shanghai, he describes this agreement as “treason” for the Chinese underground Church, a regular target…

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