A court in Hong Kong set a five-day trial for Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun and four other defendants during a pre-trial hearing. The court accused them of legally failing to register a now-defunct anti-government demonstration fund.
The Hong Kong Free Press news agency reported on August 9 that Magistrate Ada Yim announced the trial would take place from September 19 to 23 after asking prosecutors and the defendant's attorneys if five days would be sufficient to hear the case. Both parties were in agreement.
The cardinal, aged 90, was imprisoned on May 11 by China's national security regulations. He and the four others were accused of failing to legally register the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, established in 2019 to provide financial aid to people who participated in anti-government rallies.
The lawyers for both sides will argue whether the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund was covered by Hong Kong's Societies Ordinance, which governs registered and exempted organizations.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys will also dispute whether the defendants possessed control positions inside the rescue fund.
The national security law declared participating in or supporting the pro-democracy movement a crime of subversion and cooperation with foreign groups and permitted those remanded to be deported to mainland China. The penalties range from a minimum of three years to a maximum of life in prison.
Each of the five defendants pleaded not guilty. Each defendant might face $1,300 if convicted of improper registration.
In commenting on the issue, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in an interview published on August 8 by the Italian geopolitical magazine Limes, stated that the agreement reaffirms the church's commitment to appointing "authentic shepherds according to Christ’s heart."
"Not all obstacles and difficulties have been overcome, and therefore there is still a long way to go for its proper implementation and, through sincere dialogue, for its refinement," he added. - With input from Crux
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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