SW News: A Hong Kong court has convicted Cardinal Joseph Zen and five others and imposed fines on them. They were found guilty of not registering a now-defunct fund that was used to help meet the legal expenses of people who were arrested in the anti-government protests in 2019.

The 90-year-old cardinal arrived in court on Friday clad in black clericals and walked with the aid of a cane. Alongside the senior Catholic prelate, singer Denise Ho, scholar Hui Po Keung and former lawmakers and supporters of democracy Margaret Ng and Cyd Ho were slapped with fines of 4,000 Hong Kong dollars each. Along with them, the secretary of the fund Sze Ching-wee was also penalized with a fine of 2,500 Hong Kong dollars.

According to the Societies Ordinance, local organizations have to either register or apply for an exemption within 30 days of their formation. Failure to do so invites a penalty of up to 10,000 Hong Kong dollars with no jail sentence.
The cardinal and other accused have not been charged with provisions of the National Security Law. The only charge against them was the failure to register the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund. It was used to cover the legal and medical expenses of agitators who were arrested during the protests in 2019. In October last year, the fund became defunct.

In the verdict, Principal Magistrate Ada Yim said the fund was regarded as an organization that had to be registered as it was not thoroughly philanthropic.
A vocal critic of the Beijing communist government and staunch defender of civil liberties, Cardinal Zen was first arrested in May based on the suspicion that he was plotting with foreign forces against the city government. His arrest created a hue and cry among rights organizations and the Vatican.

In 2019, the agitations were triggered by legislation that would have legalized the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China. However, it was later scrapped.