Why did Cardinal Joseph Zen return to Hong Kong, knowing he could be imprisoned again?In this episode, Dr. Eric Lai joins Dr. William Saunders to explore Cardinal Zen’s fearless defiance of the CCP and his decision to stand with his people despite growing persecution. Public worship is being silenced, memorials erased, and the Church driven underground — yet Zen refuses to abandon his mission. Even under police watch, he visits prisoners and brings hope to the forgotten.Dr. Eric Lai is a research fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Asian Law and the author of the forthcoming book Legal Resistance under Authoritarianism: The Struggle for the Rule of Law in Hong Kong. His research explores the intersection of law, politics, and human rights in authoritarian and hybrid regimes, with a focus on Hong Kong. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he has been active in civil society and human rights education since 2010.