Diplomatic relations would not be addressed in an agreement between China and the Holy See that is reportedly ready to be signed before the end of the month to settle a long-standing dispute over the nomination of bishops, a US Jesuit magazine reported on Tuesday.
The question “was not raised in the present negotiations with Beijing, nor was the question of the Holy See’s relations with Taiwan,” reported America, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
The Holy See is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Europe.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of the Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See
Taiwan has lost five allies since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May 2016, as China has stepped up its suppression of Taiwan’s international presence in response to Tsai’s cross-strait stance.
Amid media speculation over the content of the agreement, which reports say could lead to the Holy See establishing diplomatic ties with Beijing, the America report cited Vatican sources as saying that the deal would bring together China’s state-backed and unauthorized Catholic communities.
A high-level Vatican delegation is to travel to Beijing for the signing, the magazine said, adding that a date has already been fixed.
“The agreement only deals with the question of the nomination of bishops. It gives each side a say in the selection of candidates, but it recognizes that the pope will have the final word in the appointment of bishops for the Catholic Church throughout mainland China,” the report said.
China and the Holy See consider it “a provisional agreement” to be revisited in a few years, it said.
The Holy See recognizes that it is “not a good agreement,” but believes “it is the only one possible at present and that, in a small, but highly significant way, it opens the door to developing a constructive and improving dialogue with the world’s emerging superpower,” the magazine said.
The report said that the text of the agreement would not be made public, even after it has been signed.
In contrast, a report by the Global Times, a newspaper owned by the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily, on Tuesday quoted the agreement as saying that “future bishops in China should be approved by the Chinese government and mandated by the pope and the letter of appointment would be issued by the pope.”
Citing Francesco Sisci, a senior researcher at the Center of European Studies at China’s Renmin University, the Global Times said that the agreement “would be rather broad on the church in China and should also include provisions for future talks and changes.”
The agreement is the result of negotiations that were revived after Pope Francis took over in March 2013, America said, adding that the administration of US President Donald Trump is not happy with the agreement, a position shared by the US Catholic Church and others.
“They see it as weakening the struggle for religious freedom in China and point to the crackdown on religion in that country in recent months under [Chinese] President Xi Jinping [習近平],” the magazine said.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
RSS