First Christian Cleric To Be Detained In Hong Kong On Sedition-Related Accusations Is A Protestant Pastor

First Christian Cleric To Be Detained In Hong Kong On Sedition-Related Accusations Is A Protestant Pastor
First Christian Cleric To Be Detained In Hong Kong On Sedition-Related Accusations Is A Protestant Pastor

In Hong Kong, A Protestant Pastor is the first member of Christian Clergy to be imprisoned on grounds of sedition.

A 59-year-old Protestant pastor was sentenced to more than a year in prison for sedition. He was the first member of the city’s Christian clergy to be found guilty under strict national security laws that mainland China passed two years ago.

At the hearing of activist Chow Hang-tung on January 4, allegedly, Pastor Garry Pang Moon-yuen allegedly told a different judge, “You have lost your conscience.” On Thursday, Magistrate Cheng Lim-chi at the West Kowloon Court sentenced Chow Hang-tung to 10 months in prison for sedition and three months for seditious speech.

In a similar case, a housewife named Chiu Mei-ying was found guilty of sedition and sent to prison for applauding and insulting magistrate Amy Chan during Chow’s sentencing hearing for urging people to attend a vigil to remember the Tiananmen Massacre.

Pang and Chiu were detained in April for their statements and actions during Chow’s trial as well as for the pastor’s films and livestreams on his YouTube channel when they were there and cheered after she made an appeal for herself.

Read Also
Six famous people have changed their lives for Jesus

Pang blasted judge Chan in one of his films for “threatening to quiet” people when she urged spectators who applauded during the trial to leave.

The court declared during sentencing that Pang had “demeaned the magistrate,” and it was not just “a slip of the tongue.”

“What’s going on in the court right now is not just a legal struggle over sedition but also a battle to protect human rights and liberties, a battle to defend conscience,” the pastor warned during his trial last month.

He said that the city’s rule of law would be hurt if people who wanted to change the legal system were found guilty of sedition.

The U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern said that a Catholic pastor from Hong Kong said that people in the city no longer post or like anything on Facebook that could upset the government because they are afraid of being punished under the security laws.

Read Also
Pastor carries out deliverance by pouring water into his mouth and spitting it on Church Members (video)

Although Pang’s case may have received a lot of internet debate before the NSL, this has changed, according to the ICC.

Days before the pastor’s imprisonment, the Roman Catholic Church and the People’s Republic of China had reaffirmed their closely-watched agreement over the selection of bishops, despite the communist government’s persistent limitations on freedom of religion. First approved in 2018, the temporary agreement was extended in 2020, and the most recent extension is set to end in 2024.

The Holy See Press Office says, “The Vatican is committed to continuing a respectful and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Party for a successful implementation of the Accord and further development of bilateral relations, with the goal of promoting the mission of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people.”

This week also saw the resumption of Cardinal Joseph Zen’s 90-year-old trial. Cardinal Zen was arrested because he was part of an organization that helped people who took part in the huge pro-democracy protests in 2019. This organization has since shut down.

Read Also
What Christian colleges can learn from the "Yeshiva" case at the Supreme Court

Cardinal Zen and five other pro-democracy activists have been accused by the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court of failing to register the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund with the police between 2019 and 2021 despite its “huge” size and “systematic” method of operation.

According to the National Catholic Register, the defense must present its case before Principal Magistrate Ada Yim Shun-yee on October 31.

Around seven decades ago, when the communists gained control of China, Cardinal Zen, a former bishop of Hong Kong and an opponent of the communist regime, escaped Shanghai for Hong Kong.

When China regained sovereignty over Hong Kong from the British in 1997, it agreed to a “one country, two systems” agreement that gave the city certain freedoms. Critics claim that the promised autonomy is compromised by the security legislation.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.