Cdl. Zen Ready for Arrest

You are not signed in as a Premium user; you are viewing the free version of this program. Premium users have access to full-length programs with limited commercials and receive a 10% discount in the store! Sign up for only one day for the low cost of $1.99. Click the button below.

See All Plans

CLICK TO WATCH THE VIDEO

TRANSCRIPT

Hong Kong's bishop emeritus is vowing to stand strong against the Chinese government's attempt to impose communist rule in the region.

Cardinal Joseph Zen recently said, "If right and proper words were considered against their law, I will endure all the suing, trials and arrests" adding, "Numerous predecessors have endured similarly."

Hong Kong has operated under a principle of "one country, two systems" for nearly a quarter-century, having its own governing and economic systems since 1997.

But the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been picking away at the region's autonomy.

The latest move for more control — the national security law.

Being imposed on Hong Kong, the law has harsh sentences for vaguely defined crimes. It criminalizes "acts of secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities and collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security."

And it comes with penalties like life imprisonment.

Hastily signed into law on Tuesday, arrests were made on Wednesday based on the law and the ensuing protest that erupted in Causeway Bay.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which now awaits President Donald Trump's signature.

The act sanctions banks doing business with Chinese officials implementing Beijing's draconian national security law on Hong Kong.

Should Trump sign the law, Chinese officials have threatened to "resolutely respond with all necessary countermeasures."

In speaking of his readiness to be arrested, Cdl. Zen said of the CCP, "Perhaps they are truly insane. Who knows? Let them be then. Isn't there a saying, 'Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad?'"

Have a news tip? Submit news to our tip line.

We rely on you to support our news reporting. Please donate today.