China says it is willing to improve Vatican ties; Taiwan monitoring developments
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Taiwan's new President Lai Ching-te meets Archbishop Charles John Brown, the Vatican's ambassador to the Philippines in Taipei, on May 21.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TAIPEI – China is willing to work with the Vatican to improve ties, a Chinese foreign ministry official said on May 22 following remarks from the Holy See’s top diplomat that it wanted to open an office in Beijing.
The Vatican’s ties with China’s Communist Party leadership have historically been fraught and it has diplomatic relations with Taiwan. It is one of only a dozen countries to have formal diplomatic ties with Taipei, which has watched nervously as Pope Francis seeks to improve relations with China.
The Vatican would like to establish a permanent office in China, its top diplomat Cardinal Pietro Parolin said on May 21, in what would be a major upgrade of diplomatic ties.
“We are willing to work together with the Vatican to promote the continuous improvement of China-Vatican relations,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing.
He added that the two sides have maintained “deep communication on bilateral relations and international hot issues”.
Vatican officials have mentioned the need for an office before but Cardinal Parolin’s remarks suggest a new impetus, with him saying new ways could be found to make it happen.
The Vatican maintains a discreet unofficial office in Hong Kong but its two representatives perform no representative functions or duties and do not meet with officials.
Taiwan is paying close attention to interactions between the Vatican and China, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said on May 22, adding that China had “repeatedly violated” a 2018 agreement on the appointment of bishops.
The issue of appointments is a longstanding source of tension between the Vatican and the Communist Party leadership, which is officially atheist.
The precise contents of the interim deal, which is due to be extended later in 2024, are secret.
Responding to Cardinal Parolin’s comments, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it continued to promote cooperation with the Vatican and the Catholic Church in fields such as humanitarian assistance, and jointly defend the core values of religious freedom.
“We understand that the Holy See hopes to promote the freedom of belief and rights of Chinese Catholics, and has publicly expressed its desire to send representatives to China many times,” it said in a statement.
In the 100 years since the first Chinese synod was held in 1924, China has “clamped down on religious freedom”, the ministry added, and has ”repeatedly violated” a 2018 agreement on appointing bishops.
The ministry called on all nations to work together to urge China to stop its “violations of religious freedom and basic human rights”.
Taiwan’s deputy environment minister Shih Wen-chen led a delegation to a Vatican seminar on climate change in May and met Pope Francis, demonstrating the deep friendship between Taiwan and the Vatican, the ministry added.
The ministry also said the Vatican sent an envoy, its ambassador to the Philippines Charles John Brown, to the inauguration of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on May 20. REUTERS
