His arrest and trial have drawn international attention and prompted the United States, the European Parliament, and religious liberty watchdogs to issue statements condemning Beijing’s actions.
‘[I]t is clear that [Hong Kong’s National Security Law’s] real purpose is to terrify the people of that once-great city into silence,’ China expert Steven Mosher told LifeSite, adding he has ‘no doubt that the corrupt prosecutors in the case threatened the defendants with life imprisonment if they did not plead guilty.’
'We remain deeply concerned about the deterioration in protection for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the systematic dismantling of Hong Kong’s autonomy under the National Security Law.'
Pope Francis’ berating of conservative and Traditionalist Catholics in the free world stands in stark contrast to his continued refusal to comment on the Chinese Communist Party’s recent arrests of a Vatican-appointed bishop, priests, and seminarians. ‘His silence is deafening, and it’s one of the greatest scandals in Church history’
Commentators are wondering if the Vatican's close relationship with China lies at the root of Pope Francis's silence regarding the country's human rights abuses.