HONG KONG - Softening his fiery criticism of Hong Kong authorities, the new leader of the territory's Roman Catholic Church said Monday he hoped for more constructive dialogue but insisted he won't silence himself on democracy and human rights.
"It's much, much better to solve the problems or differences of opinion by dialogue than by strong reactions," Bishop Joseph Zen said at his first press conference since succeeding Cardinal John Baptist Wu, who died last week after a battle with cancer.
"We encourage communication," said the 70-year-old Zen.
Zen has long been known for voicing opinions that have irritated Beijing, including a local newspaper story that quoted him a week ago as saying Hong Kong's leaders were doing "stupid things" to appease the central Chinese government.
Later Monday in an interview with The Associated Press, Zen said his accusation was actually aimed at pro-Beijing figures outside the Hong Kong government, including some local deputies of the Chinese National People's Congress.
Zen said they "betrayed Hong Kong," but declined to name names. He implied that these people have been interfering in Hong Kong's affairs by appealing directly to China's central authorities in Beijing.
"I have an impression that the Hong Kong officials are not really in charge of Hong Kong," he told the AP. "There are some people here who just talk nonsense, but it's possible that Beijing listens to them more than to local officials."
Although the Shanghai-born Zen hinted at taking a more conciliatory tone, he insisted he would continue to speak publicly on controversial issues and explain the church's position when necessary.
"Cardinal Wu has left behind a legacy for me. His motto is doing truth in charity," he said at a news conference. "I used to place truth before charity. Now I'll learn from Cardinal Wu and focus more on charity. But truth is the bottom line."
Zen reiterated his support Monday for democracy in Hong Kong, while repeating that he sides with mainland-born sons and daughters of Hong Kong residents who have been fighting, and losing, a protracted struggle with the Hong Kong government for residency rights here.
"A person fighting for his own rights is a divine thing," Zen said. "In a democratic society, people can't wait for their rights to be granted. You need to fight for them."
Zen had also accused Beijing of meddling with Hong Kong's religious freedoms after officials urged local Catholics to keep a low profile over the Vatican's canonization of Chinese martyrs. China described the canonization as an "open insult."
Under an autonomy arrangement reached when the former British colony returned to China in 1997, Hong Kong's 6.8 million people, including some 347,000 Roman Catholics, enjoy religious freedoms denied to mainland Chinese.
Although religious mainlanders are required to worship in churches sanctioned by the state, scholars estimate roughly half the 12 million mainland Catholics attend unofficial underground churches that remain loyal to Pope John Paul II.
Zen, whose requests for an official visit to the mainland have been rejected since 1998, urged Beijing leaders to be more open-minded, and to allow mainland Catholic churches to enjoy more freedom.