Hong Kong court upholds Cardinal Joseph Zen conviction in protest fund case

A Hong Kong court dismissed Cardinal Joseph Zen's appeal against his protest fund conviction. The ruling sharpens concerns over freedom of association as the case heads to the top court.Image used for representational purposes onlyA Hong Kong court on Thursday dismissed appeals filed by 94-year-old Roman Catholic cardinal Joseph Zen and four other former trustees of a now-defunct relief fund against their convictions for failing to register the organisation. The fund had helped people arrested during the 2019 anti-government protests by paying medical and legal expenses.Zen, a retired bishop and a vocal advocate for democracy in the city, was a trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund until it ceased operations in October 2021. The other trustees in the case were singer Denise Ho, scholar Hui Po Keung, and former pro-democracy lawmakers Margaret Ng and Cyd Ho. In 2022, all five were found guilty of breaching the Societies Ordinance and fined 4,000 Hong Kong dollars each. Their convictions were the first of their kind.The Societies Ordinance requires local organisations to register or apply for an exemption within one month of being set up. In their judgment, judges Jeremy Poon, Aarif Barma and Derek Pang said the fund had not done so within the required period. They also said the five former trustees had intended to use the fund as a vehicle to appeal for, collect and apply donations to support the 2019 protests.The judges said the fund was more than a "mere sum of moneys held by the appellants on trust". "Nothing in the evidence suggests that any individual, including the appellants, would be subject to an unacceptably harsh burden by the restrictions imposed by the registration scheme on their exercise of the right to freedom of association," they wrote in the judgment. Observers have said the case is significant for freedom of association in Hong Kong and it has been closely watched as the city undergoes major political changes after the mass anti-government protests of 2019. After the hearing, Ng told reporters that the defendants would appeal to the city's top court. She said the court needed to clarify what counted as a "society" and whether people would have to register with police or seek an exemption when taking part in any activity with others. "It has a great impact on Hong Kong's civil society," she said.Zen appeared in court holding a walking stick. He and the four others were first arrested in 2022 on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed national security law, though they were not charged under that law. His arrest at the time sent shock waves through the Catholic community. After his conviction in 2022, Zen had said his case should not be seen as linked to the city's religious freedoms. The 2019 protests began over a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China, and later turned into months of violent unrest. Since it was enacted in 2020, the security law has crippled Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, with many activists jailed under it, while Beijing and Hong Kong authorities have said the law is needed for the city's stability. Thursday's ruling leaves the five trustees' convictions in place as they prepare to take the case to the city's top court.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 3, 2026 20:54 IST