18-min readHONG KONG - In a high-walled Art Deco villa in the Hong Kong suburbs of Kowloon, the Vatican operates an unofficial diplomatic mission, its only political outpost of any kind in China.
The arrests, which haven't been previously reported, are viewed by top clerics here and in the Vatican as a sign Beijing wants the mission shut. It lacks official standing because the Holy See and China haven't established formal diplomatic ties. While priests are sometimes arrested on the mainland, "it is highly unusual for nuns to be detained," said another of the clerics, who has long-time contacts on the mainland. "Normally they are left alone.
In October, the four people said, Tong's executive committee, known as the curia, censored a statement on Sino-Vatican relations released by the commission. They removed a reference to James Su Zhimin, the Bishop of Baoding, who was arrested by Chinese authorities more than 20 years ago on the mainland and has become a hero to many in the Church. His fate is unknown.
In a written statement, the office of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents, including freedom of religion, are safeguarded under both Hong Kong's Basic Law, the city's mini-constitution, and the national security law. The Church is the latest major institution here to feel squeezed by Beijing. Reuters has documented this year how other institutions central to the city's freedoms and rule of law, including its judiciary, its police force and the democracy movement itself, have been weakened, co-opted or cowed. For the ruling Communist Party, Hong Kong's Catholics pose a serious challenge to its authority.
With Beijing's crackdown on Hong Kong intensifying, Tong and his diocese leadership are now moving to curb these activist voices, including that of the Justice and Peace Commission. The decision by the Church hierarchy to remove the reference to Bishop Su and other clerics detained on the mainland from the commission's October statement is telling, according to three of the clerics who spoke to Reuters. For years, the commission had stood by Su, regularly issuing calls for his freedom.