ROME, Italy – The president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences has condemned the arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen, accusing Hong Kong of having become a “police state.”
In a statement released this weekend, Myanmar Cardinal Charles Bo expressed his “profound concern about the situation for human rights and threats to religious freedom in Hong Kong.”
“Hong Kong used to be one of Asia’s freest and most open cities,” Cardinal Bo said. “Today, it has been transformed into a police state. Freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and association, and academic freedom have all been dismantled.”
The cardinal also denounced “recent propaganda attacks against the Church in pro-Beijing media in Hong Kong, and of growing self-censorship among religious leaders due to the circumstances.”
Myanmar Cardinal Charles Maung Bo arrives at St. Peter’s Basilica for a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on February 15, 2015 in Vatican City, Vatican. (Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
“To see a city that was a beacon for freedom, including religious freedom, move so radically and swiftly down a much darker and more repressive path is heartbreaking,” he said, adding that the Chinese government has “repeatedly and blatantly” broken promises made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a situation he called “appalling.”
Cardinal Bo’s declaration followed the May 11 arrest of 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, the former Bishop of Hong Kong, for allegedly conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security.
In his statement, Cardinal Bo noted that Cardinal Zen was arrested and charged “simply because he served as a trustee of a fund which provided legal aid to activists facing court cases.”
“How can it be a crime to help accused persons have legal defense and representation?” he asked.
Bo called on Catholics and other Christians to pray for Hong Kong and for the Church in China, as well as the Uyghurs, Tibetans, and others facing persecution in China.
“I urge the international community to continue to monitor the situation and speak out for freedom and justice,” he said.
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