EU Parliament condemns arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen, 4 other Hong Kong democracy activists

The European Parliament has condemned the arrests of Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of the strongest advocates of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, and of the other four trustees of a humanitarian relief fund.

Earlier in May, police arrested the five under article 29 of Hong Kong's draconian National Security Law for the overbroad and vague crime of "colluding with foreign forces," which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Among those 5 detainees was a retired Roman Catholic bishop, Cardinal Joseph Zen, 90. All five were trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which provided medical, legal, and psychological aid for protesters arrested during the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

In 2021, Hong Kong police opened an investigation into the fund for alleged violations of the National Security Law, demanding information on the fund's donors. The fund was forced to disband in October 2021.

"Parliament condemns the arrests of Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of the strongest advocates of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, and of the other four trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund (which provides humanitarian and financial support to persons injured, arrested or threatened during the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill protests)," the European Parliament said on Thursday.

The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) pointed out that these and similar repressive actions, such as the closure of over 60 civil society groups, constitute an attack on the freedoms guaranteed in the Hong Kong Basic Law, including the freedom of religion or belief. "They are also symptomatic of China's continued efforts to systematically destroy the last remnants of Hong Kong's autonomy and freedoms and to suppress the pro-democracy movement," the resolution said.

The MEPs also urged the Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against Cardinal Zen and the other four trustees - Cyd Ho, Denise Ho, Hui Po-Keung and Margaret Ng - and to release Cyd Ho.

In addition, they reiterated their call on the EU to introduce targeted sanctions under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against the newly appointed pro-Beijing Hong Kong Chief Executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, and all other officials responsible for the ongoing human rights crackdown in the city.

In response to the EU resolution, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Friday condemned the European Parliament resolution and accused EU lawmakers of defaming the rule of law in Hong Kong and the national security law in Hong Kong.

A spokesperson for the HKSAR government said the national security law in Hong Kong has stopped chaos and restored order in Hong Kong, ensuring the smooth and continuous implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle and the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, the Xinhua news agency reported.

"We will continue to guard against any acts endangering national security, and will bring any person or entity violating the law to justice regardless of background," the spokesperson said.

( With inputs from ANI )

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