There is no such thing as a state-sanctioned Catholic Church ("Vatican excommunicates Beijing's two new bishops," May 5, page 1). The only Catholic Church is the universal Catholic Church headed by the Pope. And only the Pope has the power to ordain Catholic bishops.
China's communist government falsely presents itself as the authentic spokesman for the aspirations of its people, and claims to be able -- by recourse to violent means -- to bring about the radical changes which will put an end to the oppression and misery of its people.
Marxist Communism is characterized by the "class struggle," which implies that society is founded on violence. Within this perspective, any reference to ethical requirements calling for courageous and radical institutional and structural reforms makes no sense. In this system, every affirmation of faith or of theology is subordinated to a political criterion, which in turn depends on the class struggle, the driving force of history.
Participation in the class struggle is presented as a requirement. The desire to love everyone, despite their class, and to meet them with non- violent means of dialogue and persuasion, is denounced as counterproductive and opposed to love.
Communism proposes a novel interpretation of both the content of faith and of Christian existence, which seriously departs from the faith of the Church and, in fact, actually constitutes a practical negation.
In contrast to communist belief, no state may impose religion, yet it must guarantee religious freedom and harmony among the followers of different religions. China's government, therefore, must not interfere in the religious affairs of the Catholic Church.
Those who choose to follow Beijing's newly ordained bishop of Kunming, Ma Yingling (馬英林), are following the atheistic and violent government of China and not the Catholic Church -- which is a beacon of truth and real love.
Paul Kokoski
Ontario, Canada
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS