Normalization of Vatican-China relations has a long way to go, with the degree of unofficial contact still far from bringing the sides to the negotiating table, Taiwan's envoy to the Holy See said yesterday.
Ambassador to the Holy See Tou Chou-seng (
Tou is in Taiwan to deliver his annual report to the foreign ministry. He will return to the Vatican on Saturday.
During a press briefing yesterday, Tou said China's recent appointment of three Catholic bishops without the Pope's approval had seriously undermined the relations between the Holy See and China, which had appeared to be improving in recent years.
On Saturday, Beijing elevated Vincent Zhan (
The unilateral appointment of the three is unacceptable to the pope because of their political backgrounds and records of persecution against underground Catholics, Tou said.
"The Holy See sees its authority to appoint the bishops as an important right which can never be compromised," Tou said.
There has been much speculation that Pope Benedict XVI would normalize relations with China. Unofficial contact between the Holy See and Beijing had grown more frequent and Vatican officials were often reported as saying that the Holy See was ready to move its envoy from Taipei to Beijing.
Tou yesterday said that as long as Beijing refused to ease controls on Chinese Catholics through its Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and relinquish the self-appointed authority to appoint bishops, there would be no hope of normalizing ties.
Even if the Vatican did decide to switch ties, Tou said it would not make the announcement suddenly but would rather inform Taipei in advance so that Taiwanese Catholics could be adequately represented.
Commenting on remarks by Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君), who has been quoted extensively as a facilitator of communication with Beijing, Tou yesterday said that a number of Zen's comments represented only his own opinions and were not representative of the Vatican's stance.
One example demonstrating that Zen was an outsider in Vatican-Beijing relations was when Zen said the Vatican would "suspend negotiations" with Beijing over improving bilateral ties.
Tou said he had been personally assured by the Vatican's foreign minister that the Holy See and China had yet to begin negotiations.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard