Catholic cleric and fellow activists were arrested for ‘colluding with foreign forces’ under Beijing-imposed national security law

A 90-year-old Catholic cardinal and five prominent pro-democracy campaigners have pleaded not guilty in court in Hong Kong for failing to properly register a humanitarian fund they set up to help people arrested in anti-government protests in 2019.

Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of Asia’s highest-ranking Catholic clerics, and his fellow campaigners were arrested in May for “colluding with foreign forces” under a national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong to crack down on dissent. All were trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which provided legal and financial assistance to more than 2,000 people prosecuted for their part in the 2019 pro-democracy protests. The fund is charged with not properly registering under the societies ordinance, a colonial-era law from 1911.

The fund disbanded in 2021 after police ordered it to hand over information on its donors and beneficiaries.

Prosecutors on Monday told West Kowloon court that the fund, which drew about 270m Hong Kong dollars (£32m) in donations between June 2019 and October 2021, had “political motivation” and supported anti-government groups and activists, local news portal 01 and public broadcaster RTHK reported.

Prosecutors said the fund paid for audio equipment at anti-government rallies and sponsored students’ political lobbying in London and Geneva. They claimed the students called for sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese officials, a conduct that was later outlawed under the national security law. They also claimed the fund has sponsored a Taiwanese organisation and Canada-based New Hong Kong Cultural Club which were critical of the Chinese government. The defence argued the fund’s political views were irrelevant to the charge of whether it had registered correctly.

Police have so far not charged Zen with a national security offence, which can carry a sentence of up to life in jail. Instead, he and his fellow defendants, including the singer Denise Ho, the veteran human rights barrister Margaret Ng, former lawmaker Cyd Ho and scholar Hui Po-keung, are being prosecuted for the lesser offence of failing to properly register their defence fund as a society. If convicted, they face a fine of up to 10,000 Hong Kong dollars (£1,192). The trial is expected to conclude in early November.

Zen, a retired bishop of Hong Kong and a vocal critic of the Chinese government, opposed the government’s plan to enact national security laws and took part in pro-democracy protests in 2019, 2014 and 2003. His arrest sent a chill throughout the Christian community, although the Vatican has been muted on his arrest.