China arrests Cardinal Zen and religious freedom now faces a grim future in Hong Kong

The arrest of 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen is another sign that China is eviscerating the rule of law and civil liberties in Hong Kong, where religious freedom is in danger.

Frank Wolf, a former member of Congress from Virginia, is a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

Cardinal Zen’s arrest has sparked an international outcry and represents a new low for the Hong Kong and Chinese governments. As a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and a longtime friend to the cardinal, whom I and many others admire, I am deeply concerned about his safety and well-being. 

Hong Kong was once a free and prosperous international financial center where a "high degree of autonomy" and civil liberties were guaranteed by the Sino-British Joint Declaration – a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and China in 1984 – and Hong Kong’s Basic Law.