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Beijing-Vatican diplomacy not for now

As long as the Chinese government does not guarantee freedom of religion, the Holy See is unlikely to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said yesterday.

The Vatican is scheduled to hold a meeting to discuss its China policy in the coming weeks and Cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君), the bishop of Hong Kong and the only Chinese cardinal, will be attending.

Asked whether the Vatican will discuss the issue of opening diplomatic channels with China, David Liu (劉宜民), director of MOFA's department of European Affairs, said in a regular press conference yesterday he did not think the Vatican would switch ties from Taiwan to China, as Beijing has yet to uphold freedom of religion.

The meeting will also address China's appointment of several bishops in spite of Vatican opposition and how to help churches in China deal with the issue of freedom of religion.

"The meeting will tackle these issues. There should be no question of a change in diplomatic ties," Liu said.

"We enjoy smooth communication with the Vatican and it will give us a report on the results of the meeting," he added.

China has claimed it will establish diplomatic relations with the Vatican before next year.

Beijing also made a proposal to the Vatican -- that the Vatican will have a perogative on the appointment of bishops as long as it does not meddle in China's internal affairs and that it break its diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

"We believe the Vatican will remain intransigent on that issue," Liu said.
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