612 Protest Fund Convicted, Fined

Denise Ho, Hui Po-keung, Cardinal Zen, Margaret Ng, Cyd Ho

After months of mental anguish and waiting, today the six members of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund were convicted for failing to register the legal defence fund for those involved in the 2019 protests. The five fund trustees were each fined HK$4,000 (US$512). The sixth was fined HK$2,500.

The West Kowloon Court ruled the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund fell within the definition of a society under the Societies Ordinance and the members were required to register the group with police or ask for an exemption within a month of their establishment.

Fund paid for medical and legal bills of protesters

Principal Magistrate Ada Yim Shun-yee ruled the organisation had to register because it was not just a charity.

"The undisputed fact is that the fund was not set up purely for charitable purposes... The 612 Fund clearly came into contact with matters of the public's interest and zealously raised funds from the public to achieve their objectives," she said.

The Principal Magistrate said all six were indispensable members of the fund, with the five trustees being the decision makers, and Sze the coordinator and financial officer.

This judgement will affect other groups if they are in a similar situation to the 612 fund, said Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, a lawyer and one of the defendants. The others are Cardinal Joseph Zen, singer Denise Ho Wan-see, former Lingnan University academic Hui Po-keung, and former pan-democratic lawmaker Cyd Ho Sau-lan. The sixth defendant was Sze Ching-wee, the fund's secretary who was arrested in early November at the airport to leave Hong Kong.

Sze was the fund's secretary and was also fined

The fund was started on June 15, 2019 to help pay for medical and legal fees as well as counselling for protesters. It ceased operations in October 2021.

However this is not the end of the legal woes for the six, as the police from the National Security Department are still investigating the group's alleged collusion with foreign forces.

The police have accused the six of urging foreign organisations to impose sanctions on Hong Kong. No charges have been laid yet, but their travel documents have been confiscated due to a court order.

If the 612 Humanitarian Fund had registered with the police, would the authorities have approved it at the time?

Two Prisoners Released Today

Ho was released today and greeted by supporters

Nice to see barrister Cyd Ho Sau-lan released from Lo Wu Correctional Institution today. She was met by supporters including her longtime friend Emily Lau Wai-hing, who took her out for dim sum.

Ho was in prison for 13 months for four protest-related convictions. She was most recently arrested again but not charged under the national security law for colluding with foreign forces for her part in the 612 Humanitarian Fund along with former Cardinal Joseph Zen, Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, singer Denise Ho Wan-see and academic Hui Po-keung.

Emily Lau (right) took Ho to lunch afterwards

Upon her release Ho noted much as changed since she was behind bars, that several civil society groups and media outlets have shut down, including the investigative online media FactWire yesterday.

"The last two, three years have been so tiring. The most important thing is to relax, keep your mind and body healthy," the 67-year-old said.

On the other hand another person was also released from prison, Yau Wang-tat, a young physicist who happened to be there when protester Tsang Chi-kin was shot in the abdomen in Tsuen Wan on October 1, 2019. 

Yau rushed voluntarily to Tsang help him get medical attention, but was subdued by a police officer. 

He told the officer he only wanted to help Tsang. For that Yau was convicted and sentenced to a year in prison for unlawful assembly. Originally the judge was going to sentence him for two years, but it was halved because he pleaded guilty, had no previous criminal record and had a minor role in the protests.

Yau served eight out of 12 months of his sentence

Tsang survived, but was charged with rioting and two counts for assaulting a police officer. He later jumped bail in December 2020.

Upon being released today from jail after eight months for good behaviour, Yau looked tired and skinny. He held his personal items in one bag, the other held lots of snacks, like prawn crackers and boxes of lemon tea. Apparently he spent most of his prison wages on snacks to share with his fellow inmates.

Hopefully this setback won't derail his career... seems like he has much to contribute one way or another.

Vatican Caught in Bind with Cardinal Zen

Zen holding mass at Holy Church Cross in eastern Hong Kong

Hours after retired Cardinal Joseph Zen appeared in court to answer to the charge of not registering the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund with the government, he held mass at the Holy Cross Church in Sai Wan Ho.

Many who came to see him dismissed the charge against him.

"We of course must respect the rule of law but wielding law as a weapon to oppress is by no means the goal of rule of law," a woman named Louise told AFP.

Zen along with four others pleaded not guilty

In his sermon, Zen again criticised a deal between China and the Vatican in 2018 which allows Beijing to nominate bishops for the pope's approval, calling it "unwise" despite being made with "good intentions".

The agreement was renewed in 2020 just as China was accused of suppressing Uyghurs in Xinjiang and Christian believers of underground churches.

At that time two years ago despite the pandemic, Zen traveled to Rome in the hopes of speaking to Pope Francis and persuade him not to renew the deal, but was not even granted an audience with the pope.

Vatican analyst and papal biographer Marco Politi says: "The Holy See does not want this thread of dialogue and communication [with China] to be broken. "It is clear that China is in a position of strength and the Vatican in a position of weakness."

After Zen's arrest on May 11, the Vatican has been relatively silent, and Pope Francis said he was "attentively" following the "often complex" life of Catholics in China without directly referencing Zen.

But up until this point, veteran Vatican commentator John L Allen said Zen had become "increasingly marginalised" in the Francis papacy.

Zen was rebuffed by Pope Francis in 2020

"Had China done nothing, Zen likely would have remained inconsequential," he wrote on the Catholic website Crux.com.

"Now, however, Francis can't afford to ignore Zen, because his arrest -- and whatever may come next in terms of a prosecution and even possible incarceration -- is destined to generate sympathy and activism on Zen's behalf all across the world."

Pope Francis may have wished he had granted Zen an audience, but it's too late now.

Either way he cannot ignore the seriousness of the situation Zen is in and pray that the rule of law will have mercy on him...

Cardinal Zen and Four Others Plead Not Guilty

Margaret Ng, Cardinal Zen, and Hui Po-keung arriving in court

Ninety-year-old retired Cardinal Joseph Zen raised his left fist as a sign he was fighting strong as he entered the courtroom this morning in Hong Kong to face charges of failing to register 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund with the government. 

He had five others -- musician and singer Denise Ho Wan-see, barrister Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, academic Hui Po-keung, former lawmaker Cyd Ho Sau-lan, and secretary Sze Ching-wee all pleaded not guilty and their cases will be heard September 19-23.

Their lawyer will dispute if the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund is a "society" under the Societies Ordinance, while prosecutor Laura Ng told the court it has 17 witnesses, 10 boxes of exhibits and eight hours of video recordings.

Denise Ho is also a 612 fund trustee facing charge

"I am not teaching the Department of Justice on how to make a case, but this is disproportionate for a summon case," said Robert Pang SC, on the amount of evidence.

Pang says this because the maximum fine for the offence is HK$10,000. but all five had to give up their passports.

Some law pundits are questioning if the DOJ is efficiently using its resources as well as those of the police and the courts... 

Meanwhile on the Covid-19 front, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor says there will unlikely be an reopening of the border between Hong Kong an the mainland before her tenure is up at the end of June.

Currently arrivals to Hong Kong must be fully vaccinated and take PCR tests 24 hours before arrival as well as after landing. Then they must complete seven days of hotel quarantine testing negative throughout.

Lam says border not opening before end of June

Various chambers of commerce have suggested to Lam and through the media that Hong Kong reopen its borders, particularly international ones to keep the city afloat as it is or was supposed to be a finance and trading hub.

But Lam told the media this morning this would not happen anytime in the near future.

"We have to be extremely careful in implementing the restrictions on border control. I would say that at this point in time, it is very unlikely that during my term there will be more relaxations on the border controls... in order to keep Hong Kong safe," she said.

While this continues to frustrate the business community, we'll only know if change will come from July 1 when her successor John Lee Ka-chiu takes over the reins of Hong Kong. Lam must be counting the days, minutes and seconds until her job ends...

HKJA's Chan Plans Overseas Study... Can He?

Chan plans to return to Hong Kong after his studies

The head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association will be taking part in the Reuters Institute's fellowship program at Oxford University in early October. Ronson Chan made the announcement on his Facebook on Thursday and has plans to return to the city afterwards and so he will be laying low, as the HKJA is under pressure from the national security bureau.

"I know many of my friends, citizens, and readers who care about me will hope that I know when to stay or leave, but to use a cliche, I [will] miss Hong Kong, and the program said that they hoped participants will return to their place of origin after the program ended," Chan wrote.

"Therefore, I will speak and act cautiously in the United Kingdom, and return to Hong Kong after half a year's study as planned."

Academic Hui Po-keung was arrested at airport

Since the 2019 protests and the enactment of the national security law, many civil society groups, as well as the HKJA have faced pressure from the authorities as well as criticism from pro-Beijing and state media.

But will Chan even be allowed to leave Hong Kong? He was also deputy assignment editor at the now defunct Stand News.

Earlier this month, Hui Po-keung, academic and trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, was arrested at Hong Kong International Airport as he was on his way to Germany to take up visiting scholar post. And in March, Paul Harris, former head of the Bar Association was quizzed by the national security police and he left the city hours after.

However, Chan says he's not worried about being arrested at the airport.

"I don't want them to say that I'm absconding, if they want to arrest me they will... It's such a rare opportunity for people like us who only got 14 marks in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, [I] have to seize the opportunity. Of course I will go," he told an English-language media outlet.

When asked if he was planning to come back after his studies, Chan replied that he "never intended to leave", and that he was "only going for further studies."

Tang is putting pressure on the HKJA

The HKJA has been under attack by pro-establishment figures including Secretary for Security and former police chief Chris Tang Ping-keung who expressed doubt of HKJA's professionalism and alleged political bias. Tang had hinted that perhaps the government should be the one issuing press identification to weed out those producing fake news.

Is Chan playing with fire or will he really be allowed to leave?

Perhaps with such a public announcement he is hoping the national security police will back off, but who knows... they could pre-empt his departure in other ways...

Chan should try to take this opportunity to study abroad, and he is extremely brave to go for it.

All eyes will be on him in the days leading up to his departure... if there are any decent media outlets left by October...

90-Year-Old Cardinal Zen Arrested for NSL

Cardinal Zen was arrested and released on bail hours later

I woke up this morning to the terrible news that 90-year-old Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun was arrested by the national security police along with three others on the charge of colluding with foreign forces for operating the now defunct 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund.

They were trustees of the fund that was set up during the 2019 protests to give financial, legal and psychological aid to those who had been arrested, and or injured during clashes with the police. In July 2021 the fund had over HK$250 million in donations.

The fund had to be disbanded last October

A few hours later Zen was released on bail, along with lawyer Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, Chinese-Canadian Canto-pop singer Denise Ho Wan-sze, and professor Hui Po-keung who had been arrested at the airport a day earlier. He was on his way to Germany to be a visiting scholar.

Another trustee is Cyd Ho Sau-lan who is already in jail for taking part in unauthorised assemblies.

Last September the police said the fund had violated the national security law and served a court order, requesting information on its operations and financial transactions. That would include bank details, donor and recipient information.

The fund's trustees had announced it would stop operating by October 31 last year, after directors of the fund's holding company -- The Alliance for True Democracy Limited -- said it would soon disband.

As a result people whose trials are still in the system (and there are many) may not have enough financial means to pay their defence lawyers.

The fund was made of donations

China legal expert Jerome Cohen says the arrests were calculated to take place after incoming Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's position was secured.

"Cutting off legal defense funds is a logical step in the systematic attack on the criminal justice system that has been under way since imposition of the National Security regime on HK," he writes on Twitter.

"We should recall that measures have also been taken to curb the availability of Legal Aid assistance. How many highly-paid HK barristers will be courageous and concerned enough to offer their services on a 'pro bono' basis?"

Meanwhile Human Rights Watch's Maya Wang condemned the arrests, describing them as "shocking".

"Arresting a 90-year-old cardinal for his peaceful activities has to be a shocking new low for Hong Kong, illustrating the city's free fall in human rights in the past two years. Human Rights Watch calls on the Hong Kong government to immediately release the five and drop all charges against them. The arrests, which comes days after the Chinese government's anointment of former security chief John Lee as the city's chief executive, is an ominous sign that its crackdown on Hong Kong is only going to escalate." 

Cyd Ho currently in jail

These people arrested this morning are not young people who some from the older generation may consider naive or rebellious for throwing bricks and Molotov cocktails are police. These are people in their 40s to 90s who tried to help protestors get the legal, medical and mental health support they needed.

The Vatican's response: "The Holy See has learned with concern the news of Cardinal Zen's arrest and is following the evolution of the situation with extreme attention," said the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.

Usually the Vatican is low-key with responses when it comes to anything related to Hong Kong and China, and perhaps Cardinal Zen is not surprised, after having warned the Pope many times about China's modus operandi.

While it is thankful all four (minus Cyd Ho) were released on bail, Hui Po-keung won't be able to go to Germany, and they will have to prepare for trial. 

How much longer can they avoid revealing the donors and beneficiaries of the fund?