A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a resolution to condemn the Chinese government’s crackdown in Hong Kong and its prosecution of outspoken Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen.
Zen is being prosecuted by the Chinese government-dominated authorities of the city following his decades of harsh criticism of Beijing’s religious persecution, its extensive human rights abuses, and its growing repression, and U.S. senators are now urging the Senate to condemn his arrest and to call on the Chinese government to end his prosecution.
Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Jim Risch (R-ID), Angus King (I-ME), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) joined together this week in introducing a resolution condemning the arrest of Zen and in “reaffirming the commitment of the Senate to supporting democracy, autonomy, religious freedom, and human rights” in Hong Kong.
The resolution “condemns the arrest of Cardinal Zen by the Hong Kong authorities at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party” and “calls for all charges to be immediately dropped against Cardinal Zen.”
HONG KONG’S CATHOLIC CARDINAL ZEN PROSECUTED BY CHINA
If adopted, the Senate would also “reaffirm religious freedom as a fundamental right” and would “urge the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to cease targeting Hong Kong’s civil society actors and to immediately release and drop all charges against all political prisoners who have been unjustly detained and charged.”
The 90-year-old cardinal, along with five co-defendants, was arrested and charged under the Hong Kong’s Societies Ordinance in May for allegedly failing properly to register the pro-democracy 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which provided legal and medical assistance in 2019 and 2020 to jailed protesters who objected to the Chinese government’s increasingly iron-fisted grip on the former British colony, which had semi-autonomy from the Chinese government until recent years.
Zen is also being investigated for alleged “collusion with foreign forces” under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, and, if charged and convicted under it, he could receive a life sentence.
The bipartisan group of senators said this “national security law’’ was imposed in 2020, “effectively crushing Hong Kong’s opposition movement, overhauling its electoral system to provide Beijing with even more control, silencing free media, and crippling its once-vibrant civil society.”
The senators lamented that “Hong Kong is devolving into an increasingly repressive society where no one resisting government tyranny is safe, including religious leaders and communities.” They added that “the story of Cardinal Zen is only one of many such instances of religious persecution and infringement on democratic freedom in China and around the world.”
Other U.S. political leaders have criticized China’s prosecution of Zen as well.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wrote in mid-May that “Beijing launched its latest assault” on freedom through arresting Zen, arguing that “these arrests are part of a severe crackdown” and are “designed to eliminate all dissent in Hong Kong.”
And White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also condemned the arrest in May.
“So, freedom of expression are critical to prosperous and secure societies,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. “We call on PRC and Hong Kong authorities to cease targeting Hong Kong’s advocates and to immediately release who have been unjustly detained and charged, like the Cardinal Joseph Zen and others arrested today.”
The Vatican’s response to the arrest has been largely quiet because Pope Francis seeks to renew a secretive agreement between the Catholic Church and China’s government on how bishops are appointed and how the church is allowed to operate inside the increasingly authoritarian country.
There is a large divide inside China between the government-sanctioned Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and the underground Catholic Church.
Zen has long been a harsh critic of Beijing and has repeatedly criticized the Vatican as it seeks a more permanent deal with the Chinese government. Francis hopes to reach a further agreement with China sometime this month.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian defended Zen’s arrest in mid-May by claiming that “Hong Kong is a society with rule of law where no organization or individual is above the law and all offenses shall be prosecuted and punished in accordance with law.”
Zen himself has not backed down since his arrest.
“Martyrdom is normal in our church,” the cardinal said during a late May homily during Catholic mass. “We may not have to do that, but we may have to bear some pain and steel ourselves for our loyalty to our faith.”
