The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday slammed Beijing for issuing a set of rules on clergy and pledged to work more closely with the Vatican in defending religious freedom.
The Holy See is one of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic allies and the only one in Europe.
“The Chinese government’s recent issuance of the Measures for the Administration of Religious Personnel is solid proof of its increased suppression of religious freedom,” ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a regular news briefing.
Screen grab from Facebook via CNA
The regulations “nationalize” religion, as they clearly state that all religious personnel in China should support the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), she said.
The new measures take effect on May 1.
The regulations stipulate that the succession of a living Buddha should follow China’s rules, and that Catholic bishops in China should be approved and ordained by the Chinese authorities, the Chinese National Religious Affairs Administration’s Web site says.
The regulations also prohibit religious personnel from accepting their designation from a religious group overseas, the Web site says.
“The Taiwanese government will continue to strengthen its cooperation with the Vatican and the Catholic Church to defend the core values of religious freedom,” Ou said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) also condemned the Chinese government’s suppression of religious freedom.
“Beijing’s newly announced Law Governing Religious Clergy commands all ‘authorized’ practitioners to love the motherland, and worship the communist leadership and socialism,” Wu wrote on the ministry’s Twitter account late on Wednesday.
“Simply put, the CCP is the GOD of religions in China. How low must we go before the free world says enough?” he wrote.
Citigroup Inc plans to exit retail banking in 13 markets across Asia, and the region of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The bank would instead operate its consumer-banking franchise in both regions from four wealth centers in Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and London, it said yesterday in a statement. The move is part of an ongoing review of the company’s strategy by chief executive officer Jane Fraser, who took over last month. “This positions us to capture the strong growth and attractive returns the wealth-management business offers through these important hubs,” Fraser said. Citigroup is to exit its consumer
CONFIDENTIAL: The trip had not been made public until just before ex-senator Chris Dodd, and ex-state department officials Richard Armitage and James Steinberg arrived The government yesterday welcomed an “unofficial” delegation sent by US President Joe Biden, while another delegation led by US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry was headed to Shanghai. Biden’s first delegation to Taiwan is made up of former US senator Chris Dodd, and former US deputy secretaries of state Richard Armitage and James Steinberg. They are to stay in Taiwan until tomorrow. Their arrival, on a chartered flight, had been kept confidential until media reported the visit yesterday morning, after which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a short notice that they were expected to arrive at 2:40pm. The flight landed at
MORE TRUSTWORTHY? While officials investigate whether the shelf life of AstraZeneca vaccines can be extended, the Moderna jab might boost inoculations Shipments of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are due to arrive in Taiwan next month, while another batch of AstraZeneca vaccines allotted to Taiwan under the COVAX program is due to arrive by June, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported that the Moderna vaccines might arrive at the end of this month or next month. The center in February said that Moderna had agreed to supply about 5 million doses to Taiwan, although at the time the center estimated that they would arrive in the middle of this year. Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥),
‘IDEAL FIT’: A report on Sunday said that the Canadian government threatened to pull its support and funding from the HFX if the award was given to the president The government would respect the decision of the organizer of the John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service on whether it plans to award a prize to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. The statement was issued after US Web site Politico reported a day earlier that the Canadian government had warned the Halifax International Security Forum (HFX) not to give the award to Tsai for fear of provoking Beijing. “The ministry believes that if the Halifax International Security Forum confers the prize upon President Tsai, it would be an affirmation and honor for both
RSS