Dump Taiwan and We Can Have Ties, China Tells New Pope
By: Administrative Account | Source: CNSNews.com
April 20, 2005 6:13AM EST

By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
April 20, 2005

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - China on Wednesday urged newly-elected Pope Benedict XVI to break the Holy See's ties to Taiwan, recognize Beijing's claim to the island, and "not interfere in internal Chinese affairs."

Pope John Paul II, who once wrote that the evangelization of Asia was "our common task for the third millennium," was never able to fulfill his dream of visiting China, and the new pope's dealings with the world's most populous country will be closely watched.

Beijing in 1951 cut ties with the Vatican -- which maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan -- and refused to allow Pope John Paul II to visit.

The Communist government established an approved "patriotic" Catholic organization which appoints its own bishops, and reacted angrily when the late pope in 2000 canonized 120 Chinese martyrs, a move Beijing saw as an insult to its sovereignty.

The "patriotic" Catholic denomination claims about four million members, but the Vatican estimates that there are up to 12 million Catholics in China, most of them loyal to the pope and worshiping in secret. They include about 46 bishops and 1,000 priests, some of whom are in jail, under house arrest, or otherwise prevented from exercising their ministry, according to human rights campaigners.

The death of Pope John Paul II raised speculation that his successor, German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, may seek to restore relations with China.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Wednesday China was willing to improve ties with the Vatican. But he cited two preconditions which China has repeated frequently over a period of more than two decades.

"One is that Joseph Ratzinger should break off the so-called diplomatic relationship with Taiwan and recognize that the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government which represents China and that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China," Qin said.

"The second is that Ratzinger should not interfere in internal Chinese affairs, including in the name of religion."

The reference to "interference" relates to Beijing's refusal to accept the appointment of religious leaders by an outside authority.

Hong Kong's Catholic leader, Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun says that although the Holy See had never before taken unilateral action to sever diplomatic relations with any state, it was - reluctantly - ready to take such a step in Taiwan's case, in the interests of religious freedom in China.

"The Holy See is facing a dilemma -- either keep the status quo and abandon the faithful in the mainland to their fate, or try to help them to achieve a state of normal religious practice and come to terms with the Beijing government," he said in a recent statement.

Zen asserted that China knew this, and that the real problem for the Communist government was not Taiwan, but the notion that the Vatican wanted to interfere.

He argued that seeing the pope's appointment of bishops as interference in a country's internal affairs was clearly the result of a misunderstanding.

"The appointment of bishops is the pastoral duty of the Holy Father. It is, by nature, a purely religious matter. All big nations accept this. Nobody regards this as a breach of either national dignity or sovereignty."

Zen is the only Roman Catholic bishop in China openly able to operate under the authority of the pope, a situation owing to Hong Kong's unique political status.