Pro-Beijing Paper Targets Card Zen

AsiaNews ^ | 2/4/22

[marshmallow]

Four articles in Ta Kung Pao slam the cardinal for the 2019 protest movement and the pro-democracy movement, which was recently muzzled by the authorities under the security law. The move could herald a crackdown against religious activities in Hong Kong with Catholic and Protestant schools as the first targets.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) – The Chinese-language press has started to target 90-year-old Card Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong and a well-known supporter of the local pro-democracy movement, this according to Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, writing in The Epoch Times.

In the last week of January, four articles appeared in Ta Kung Pao, a government-owned newspaper, accusing the cardinal of inciting students to go against a series of government measures in 2019.

Card Zen is disliked by Beijing for his criticism of the control exercised by the Communist Party of China (CPC) over religious communities.

He slammed the removal of external crosses from churches in mainland China and regularly celebrated memorial Masses for the martyrs of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, i.e., the young people massacred by the authorities on 4 June 1989 for demanding freedom and democracy.

The cardinal is also opposed to the agreement between the Vatican and China over episcopal appointments.

Card Zen has openly defended civil rights in Hong Kong and mainland China, and has often attended the trials of political prisoners and pro-democracy activists jailed on charges of breaking the draconian security law imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in 2020.

One article in Ta Kung Pao is titled “Card Zen uses his status as a clergyman to disrupt Hong Kong”.

[McGavin999]

May God protect him.

[untenured]

I don’t know much about it and thus am happy to be corrected. But my understanding is that the RCC under Francis and the CCP have agreed to let the latter have vet he final say over any appointment of bishops in the PRC. From what little I know, based on what people on FR have said over the years, this would seem to violate the idea of apostolic succession,

I do know the Church wants to continue to operate in the PRC. But how is this different from how the IOC, NBC, etc. have kowtowed to the CCP?