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China-Japan-Koreas
China calls for new Pope to break Vatican ties with Taiwan
2005-04-20
BEIJING - Beijing called Wednesday on new Pope Benedict XVI to break ties with Taiwan and stay out of China's internal affairs to create the conditions for better Sino-Vatican relations. "We are willing to improve the relationship between China and the Vatican on the basis of two principles," said foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang of ties that were ruptured in 1951 when China expelled the Vatican's ambassador.

"One is that Joseph Ratzinger should welch on his commitments break off the so-called diplomatic relationship with Taiwan and recognise 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.

"The second is that Ratzinger should kowtow to us so that we can control the Church in China not interfere in internal Chinese affairs, including in the name of religion.

"We hope that with a new Pope, the Vatican can create conditions to improve China-Vatican relations."

Despite not recognizing the authority of the Pope, the official Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association had sent a congratulatory telegram "in the name of the Bishops and believers of the whole country," the ministry said. It added that congregations had been ordered told to pray for Pope Benedict XVI.

China's Roman Catholics are divided into two churches—the government-approved "patriotic" church which does not recognize the authority of the Pope, and the underground church where adherents accept the pontiff as leader. The government church has about four million worshippers, according to official figures, while the underground church has about 10 million, based on Vatican estimates.

Breaking through half-a-century of enmity to re-establish relations with China may be the greatest diplomatic challenge facing Pope Benedict XVI as he takes on the mantle as leader of 1.1 billion Roman Catholics worldwide.
Then again, standing up to the ChiComs might be the smartest diplomatic move he can make.
Fixing broken ties with China would spread the new pontiff's spiritual realm to the most populous nation on earth, home to 1.3 billion people. But it is precisely that global influence that scares Beijing.
You guys remember Poland, 1981?
China sent no representative to Pope John Paul II's funeral in Rome on April 8 to protest the presence of Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian at the event. Any hint of recognition of Taipei infuriates China, which considers the island a rebel province.
Posted by:Steve White

#23  Benedict will tell them 3 or 5 words.

Not. Gonna. Happen.

Or, a little more in the vernacular,

Go Piss Up A Rope

Whats that? Chinese outrage? Oh Zheng, you misheard him, he said

"Kiss up to the Pope"
Posted by: OldSpook   2005-04-20 5:32:06 PM  

#22  Is there before or after the next ChiCom torture of Christians?

I say we sprinkle some nuclear 'holy water' on the ChiCom gov.
Posted by: Dennis Kucinich   2005-04-20 4:36:10 PM  

#21  Zhang, unlikely.
Bishop Lin Xili is among those named on the list published by AsiaNews of 18 bishops and 19 priests in prison or in isolation in China. He is one of the bishops of the underground Church who are periodically arrested and subjected to brainwashing sessions to force them to register with the the Patriotic Association, the entity through which the Chinese Communist Party controls Catholics: among its aims is to create a Church independent from the pope.
AsiaNews

It's most likely one of the above.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins   2005-04-20 2:50:40 PM  

#20  Ah, Chuck Simmins beat me to it!
Posted by: Desert Blondie   2005-04-20 2:49:14 PM  

#19  Sam, the Pope names "secret" cardinals in countries where the Church is persecuted, and the public announcement would lead to that clergyman's injury. In the past, bishops and even priests have been so placed. Sadly, there are still people being martyred for the Faith in the 21st Century.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins   2005-04-20 2:46:47 PM  

#18  Cardinal Zen? Nice to see the Church pushing the frontiers of interfaith dialogue
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex)   2005-04-20 2:42:24 PM  

#17  I think it is widely assumed that China's secret cardinal is Bishop Joseph Zen, who ministers to Hong Kong's spiritual needs.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2005-04-20 2:39:14 PM  

#16  Stupid Question:
I don't understand the point of a secret cardinal. Could someone explain it to me? Thanks.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam   2005-04-20 2:20:52 PM  

#15  Mrs. Davis, you've almost nailed it! ;-)
You can translate it as "up yours!"
Posted by: Sobiesky   2005-04-20 1:55:30 PM  

#14  Blondie, since he's secret, no one knows. But we assume he is Chinese. The real issue is whether or not Pope John Paul the Great ever told anyone who it was. Or, he may remain secret for a very long time.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins   2005-04-20 11:27:00 AM  

#13  "If you stick it to Taiwan, we might call you Benedict. Maybe. And you gotta eat a burger on Good Friday. Then we'll consider it...."

BTW, isn't China the location of the last "secret" cardinal? I heard there was still one out there. Maybe my information is wrong.
Posted by: Desert Blondie   2005-04-20 11:23:11 AM  

#12  look for a complementary crackdown and imprisonment of Chinese underground Catholics. Chinese diplomacy at its finest. I hope i live to see the day the politburo is killed by the mobs
Posted by: Frank G   2005-04-20 10:12:37 AM  

#11  Benedict XVI is even more anti-communist than John Paul II was. This is something I can attest to.
Chinese Commies are probably the last people on earth who can tell him what to do.
If the "official" Patriotic Catholics don't recognize the Pope they are no Catholics. Very simple.
Posted by: True German Ally   2005-04-20 9:15:59 AM  

#10  The relationship between China and the Vatican pits the two oldest diplomacies in the world against eachother. The Vatican can be pursuaded to change its relationship with Taiwan, but only by recognizing the Church in China. There may be many dance steps by both parties around the issue, and agita by the carload. Yet, in the end, Peking is not about to allow an independent Church, and Rome will not end its relationship with Free China without that.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins   2005-04-20 8:59:31 AM  

#9  Here's some pig Latin for them: Uck-fay ou-yay!
Posted by: Spot   2005-04-20 8:24:02 AM  

#8  Did you read the reports about Japan being prepared to apologize to Australia for WW2. Sounds like a snub to China to me.
Posted by: phil_b   2005-04-20 8:12:16 AM  

#7  Haven't you been reading their press, Zhang? They're the most powerful nation in the world...someday.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis   2005-04-20 8:05:00 AM  

#6  I shouldn't really say it's bad manners - it just that they expect him to prostrate himself before them, just as they expected Japan to prostrate itself before them. I think they believe China's power and influence to be bigger than it really is.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2005-04-20 8:00:47 AM  

#5  The guy is now styled Pope Benedict XVI and they're still calling him Joe Ratzinger? My feeling is that they're giving him the finger, the way they once gave Israel the finger by serving shrimp and pork products at an function in China for Israel. Typical Chinese bad manners.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2005-04-20 7:59:12 AM  

#4  I know enough Latin to know that tuum is yours and enough English to see ascendo looks a lot like ascend, or go up.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis   2005-04-20 7:57:36 AM  

#3  Ghesundheit, Sobiesky. What does it mean?

Hopefully there is no Chamberlain in Pope Benedict.
Posted by: Jame Retief   2005-04-20 7:31:12 AM  

#2  If I were a pope, I would say to Chinks:
"Ascendo tuum. Amen"
Posted by: Sobiesky   2005-04-20 1:45:23 AM  

#1  I'm no expert on Catholic affairs,but I doubt that John Paul's suscessor would abandon Taiwan.
Posted by: .   2005-04-20 1:31:54 AM  

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