Hong Kong democrat Martin Lee and Cardinal Joseph Zen say Beijing kept tabs on Catholic meeting in Portugal

The duo claim they were monitored by Chinese agents at a conference in the holy city of Fátima and that Beijing pressured organisers to disinvite them

Hong Kong’s protests and Sino-Vatican relations were among the topics being discussed

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Martin Lee, founding chairman of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party. Photo: SCMP

Published: 3:30am, 20 Sep 2019Updated: 3:57am, 20 Sep 2019

Hong Kong’s outspoken Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun and veteran democrat politician Martin Lee Chu-ming had not yet collected their luggage at Lisbon airport when they were approached by a policeman among the hundreds of tourists arriving in the Portuguese capital.

“Somebody walked up to me and asked if I was Cardinal Zen. I said, ‘Not me, but him’, and pointed to Zen. Then he said he was a policeman and he was coming to protect us. So I was surprised,” said Lee, the founding chairman of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party.

The encounter took place on August 21, one day before a conference organised by the International Catholic Legislators Network was held in Fátima, a Catholic holy city in Portugal that draws thousands of worshippers each year.

The Hong Kong pair were attending the International Pilgrimage for Politicians and Family Summit, which gathered more than 100 high-profile believers from August 22 to 25, including US President Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Retired bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun. Photo: AFP

During the private gathering, the group of religious and political leaders talked about issues such as human rights and religious freedom. They also discussed this summer’s anti-government protests in Hong Kong that have on occasion led to violence and vandalism, as well as Sino-Vatican relations.

According to Lee and Zen, their presence as well as these two topics attracted the attention of the Chinese embassy in Lisbon, and conference organisers were under pressure to cancel the pair’s invitations.