In recent years, the Vatican, particularly under Pope Francis, has been eager to reach a deal with the Chinese government and unite the churches. Foreign priests were expelled and many of their Chinese colleagues spent decades in prison or labor camps. But he also said those experiences showed him the lack of religious freedom in China and fed a deep distrust of the officially atheist ruling party.Ĭhina broke off relations with the Holy See in 1951 after the party took power and established its own church. Zen had once sought to build bridges with China’s Communist Party-controlled Catholic church by visiting Beijing-approved seminaries in mainland China. Many felt that this was a capitulation to China by the Catholic church.
The agreement allowed China’s Communist Party leaders to select the leaders of the church in China. Zen was reportedly upset with Pope Francis who came to an agreement with China a few years ago. The former Hong Kong archbishop has not yet commented on his arrest. Zen left a police station on bail Wednesday night following his arrest alongside other former trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Support Fund, which provides assistance to people arrested during 2019 anti-government protests. ABC News reported on the arrest and noted that Cardinal Zen was released Wednesday night.Ĭardinal Joseph Zen, the 90-year-old Catholic cleric arrested by Hong Kong police on national security charges, has long been a fiery critic of Beijing’s control of religion and political monopoly, along with efforts by the Vatican to reach a working arrangement with the ruling Communist Party. To date, Pope Francis has remained silent about Cardinal Zen’s arrest. Once the Freest Economy in the World, Hong Kong Is Now Completely Taken Over by China The new CEO of Hong Kong was rewarded with the post after leading the effort to squash the freedom protests that were in place in 2020. This arrest comes only days after China instituted their new puppet in the former British colony.
The TV station promised that “management is looking into” the allegations, and “the employee will remain off the air until the situation is resolved.” They note that “No charges have been filed in connection with the video.”Ī legal source familiar with the matter told Reuters that five people had been arrested in connection with the case, including Zen senior barrister Margaret Ng, 74 activist and pop singer Denise Ho former lawmaker Cyd Ho and former academic Hui Po-keung.Īll were taken into custody for alleged “collusion with foreign forces,” according to the source. The local group that posted the video claims that the employee engaged in inappropriate behavior.” “WETM has been made aware of a video posted to YouTube regarding one of our employees. WETM posted a statement regarding the video shortly after it made waves online. “It has nothing to do with that,” they said. “This is what’s happening, people like me are getting…” he said before the group interrupted him. “I know this looks extremely horrible, and this is what’s happening in the culture, cancel culture,” the apparent predator said. The man then bemoaned “cancel culture” over the apparent pedophile sting operation that was happening to him. “I don’t know, because I was stupid,” the man replied. “Why would you say all that sexual stuff?” the men asked. In the messages, the man allegedly said he wanted to “play doggie” with the fictional boy and give him “kisses,” and also asked whether the teen has had sex with men, enjoyed oral sex, or enjoyed “sexy” pictures. When asked why he told the fictional underage boy that they were going to “cuddle” together and “watch a movie” at the fictional minor’s house, the man said he was just trying to “be nice to the kid.” “Why do you guys do this to gay and lesbian people?” the man asked. Still, he blamed those filming for the ordeal. In the video, it was revealed that the fictional boy told the man that he was nearly 16 years old. The confrontational group then explained to the man that the “chat logs” – online conversations that appear to have taken place before the meet-up on the gay dating site known as Growlr – indicated that he knew the fictional boy was underage. “I was here to talk to that kid to get him off of these apps.” “I thought the kid was 18,” the man said, denying that he sought to engage in sexual activity with the fictional minor. A man matching Wheeler’s appearance was confronted by members of 607PH, who immediately began questioning his intentions upon arrival.