China yesterday reacted cautiously to the Vatican's call for dialogue, insisting that the Holy See must sever ties with Taiwan in order to forge diplomatic relations with Beijing.
In a special meeting concerning its relations with China, the Vatican called on Saturday for "respectful and constructive dialogue" with Beijing and expressed hopes for the normalization of ties.
"At this moment I cannot comment on this special meeting because we have only seen the news reports," said Liu Bainian (
Liu said that his association -- the state-run administrator of China's Catholic Church -- still hopes that formal ties between the Vatican and Beijing can be established "as soon as possible."
But he reiterated his government's demands that the Holy See first cut ties with Taiwan.
"The Chinese government has two conditions on establishing relations with the Vatican," Liu said. "The first is that the Vatican must sever all relations with Taiwan and the second is that the Vatican must commit to not interfere in China's internal affairs."
Following the two-day review of its China policy, the Holy See said it wished to "overcome misunderstandings of the past" with Beijing, which ended relations with the Vatican more than 50 years ago.
It was not immediately clear to what extent the meeting addressed the Vatican's relationship with Taiwan.
But the Holy See said in a statement it wanted to normalize relations with China at "different levels" in order to benefit the Church and work together "for the good of the Chinese people and for peace in the world."
"It's a positive signal" to China that will help "improve the climate of mutual understanding," said Italian sinologist Agostino Giovagnoli, speaking to the ANSA news agency.
"I'm sure Beijing will appreciate the moderation with which Rome acted," he said.
China's foreign ministry was not immediately available yesterday for comment.
China's state-sanctioned church has about 4 million worshippers, official figures show, and does not allow the country's Catholics to recognize papal authority.
The Vatican estimates that an illegal, or underground, church has around 10 million followers.
During China's more than 25 years of economic reform and opening to the outside world, the numbers of Chinese Christian believers, both Protestants and Catholics, have grown rapidly, but largely in "underground churches" that are not recognized by the state.
Diplomatic ties between China and the Vatican were severed in 1951, two years after Beijing's officially atheist communist government took power.
China refuses to enter into diplomatic relations with any country that maintains official ties with Taiwan.
Tensions have been simmering between Beijing and the Vatican since Chinese state authorities last year went ahead with the ordination of four bishops who did not have papal approval.
Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman David Wang (
Wang said that the meeting between Vatican and Beijing officials on Saturday had focused on issues such as China's lack of religious freedom. Both Cardinal Paul Shan (單國璽), the bishop of Taiwan and Cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君), the bishop of Hong Kong, attended the meeting, Wang added.
"It would be difficult for Beijing to develop ties with the Vatican if China does not improve its attitude toward religious freedom," Wang said.
Wang added that Taiwan respected the need for the meeting.
"But so far we have not seen any sign of an end to ties between the Vatican and Taiwan," he said.
Additional reporting by Jewel Huang
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS