Joseph Zen is a Catholic cardinal from Hong Kong who served as the sixth Bishop of Hong Kong. On May 11, 2022, he was caught by the National Security Police.
Joseph was named a cardinal in 2006 and has been an outspoken supporter of human rights, political liberty, and religious liberty. His tight ties to the pro-democracy movement and the People’s Republic of China’s leadership have been widely criticized.
On April 15, 2009, he resigned, yet he remains a significant pro-democracy figure in Hong Kong. When it comes to anything negative, he is well-known for his outspokenness. The outspoken Catholic leader and activist Cardinal has been imprisoned by Hong Kong’s national security authorities.
Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, a former opposition member, and Denise Ho Wan-sze, a musician, are holding him captive.
Cardinal Joseph Zen was arrested in China for what?
According to media reports, Hong Kong’s national security authorities arrested Cardinal Joseph Zen and four others for establishing a now-defunct humanitarian fund for demonstrators.
Zen has long been a supporter of democratic movements in Hong Kong and China, as well as a critic of President Xi Jinping’s expanding authoritarianism. According to the media, Zen and the others were charged with the same offense.
The five were trustees of the “612 Humanitarian Relief Fund,” which helped demonstrators imprisoned during pro-democracy, anti-China protests in 2019.
After a company that helped collect donations through a bank account went out of business last year, the fund was discontinued. The arrests came after police stated in September that they were looking into the fund for alleged violations of national security regulations.
Joseph Zen, Cardinal Investigates Net Worth
The net worth of Cardinal Joseph Zen is reported to be between $1 and $5 million. He makes the majority of his money as a Priest. Given his internet net worth, however, not much information about him needs to be made public.
Zen has also warned that if the Legislative Council passes a plan in 2005 to encourage the formation of incorporated management committees in schools, he will sue.
Many people look up to him since he has helped them so much in the past. After becoming Bishop of Hong Kong on September 23, 2002, he led the Diocese in expressing misgivings. It was about anti-subversion legislation suggested in accordance with Article 23 of the Basic Law.
Are the allegations against Cardinal Joseph Zen true?
Because Cardinal Joseph Zen has yet to be proven guilty of the charge leveled against him, it is uncertain whether his claims are true or not. However, a Beijing tabloid in Hong Kong has accused him of using his clerical position to engage in anti-China activities.
Cardinal Zen, who is 90 years old, and the Hong Kong Church were targeted in four articles published by Ta Kung Pao, a Chinese-language daily operated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They alleged Cardinal Zen has a “long history of exploiting his ecclesiastical rank to engage in anti-China activities and cause mayhem in Hong Kong.”
In 2019, he is accused of inciting students to defy government limitations.