Cardinal Joseph Zen, Margaret Ng, Denise Ho Arrested for “Colluding with Foreign Forces” under NSL

The three were among five former trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Fund to be arrested on Wednesday

Washington, DC (May 11, 2022) - On Wednesday, Hong Kong’s national security police arrested Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, former opposition lawmaker Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, and singer Denise Ho Wan-sze, accusing the three opposition activists of colluding with foreign forces under the National Security Law. The three were trustees of the now-shuttered 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which was set up to help those involved in the anti-government protests of 2019. A fourth former trustee and former Lingnan University academic Hui Po-keung, was also arrested by national security police on Tuesday at the airport trying to board a flight. Former lawmaker Cyd Ho Sau-lan, a fifth former trustee, was already behind bars for protest-related charges.

The Campaign for Hong Kong releases the following statements from Board Member and Hong Kong legal expert Michael Curtis Davis:

“This arrest is s double outrage, targeting a 90-year-old Catholic spiritual leader and the directors of a fund set up to provide legal defense to arrested protesters.

In a society based on the rule of law, the most fundamental right is the right to an adequate criminal defense. Nothing could offend that principle more than targeting a criminal defense fund.

With these arrests, the Hong Kong special police are targeting Hong Kong's most respected community leaders for civic-minded activities to protect basic rights in Hong Kong.

If the target is foreign funding, it is basic to the international human rights movement that international donors be allowed to support human rights work anywhere.”

From Founder and President Samuel Chu:

“Beijing and the newly minted chief-executive-in-waiting have chosen to ‘celebrate’ and mark their sham election with the arrests of some of the most revered civil society leaders, including the 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen.

These arrests set the tone for the “new era” under John Lee - more of the same but with more impunity and aggression. To put it bluntly, the timing of these arrests conjures up the image of a subject paying ‘tribute’ to his sovereign for securing his post while demonstrating to his masters in Beijing that they have picked the ‘right man for the job.’

The ongoing silence of the Vatican and church leadership in Hong Kong is deafening if not surprising. If this were happening to a parish priest anywhere else in the world, the Church would have spoken up forcefully and definitively (not merely “monitoring closely”) but not under the shadow of the CCP.”