ChinaThe Vatican will reluctantly give up its diplomatic ties to Taiwan and recognise Beijing because it is the only way to improve the plight of millions of oppressed faithful in China, the prelate of the only Roman Catholic church on Chinese soil said yesterday.
"The Holy See is ready to switch diplomatic recognition," said Bishop Joseph Zen, the pastoral head of Hong Kong's Roman Catholic diocese, in an interview with The Irish Times.
"It's very difficult to accept this move, without the people of Taiwan doing anything wrong. But the bishops in Taiwan are prepared that the Holy See will be forced to abandon Taiwan," he said.
Bishop Zen is a hugely important figure in Asian political life, an outspoken champion of democracy in the region and a staunch critic of China, where there are around 12 million Catholics.
Religious freedom is guaranteed in Hong Kong but the situation across the border, a few miles to the north of the city state, is very different.
Many Chinese Catholics worship in state-sponsored churches that, officially at least, do not recognise the authority of the papacy. But millions more risk arrest by worshipping in underground churches.
Priests and bishops are routinely harassed and detained by police, most recently in Hebei province, where seven clerics were arrested late last month and held for several days.
"The Holy Father has recognised that the church needs to do something for the faithful in China and that cannot be done without diplomatic relations to Beijing," said the compact, energetic figure, whose modest office in the Diocesan Centre in Hong Kong is almost overflowing with piles of documents.
Beijing ceased formal ties with the Vatican and expelled all foreign clergy in the 1950s and many churches and religious sites were destroyed by Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s.
Beijing has long been irritated by the Vatican's diplomatic recognition of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory despite a split during civil war in 1949, and it has said it won't establish ties with the Vatican until it ends its relationship with Taiwan.
For its part, Taiwan desperately wants diplomatic recognition. Only 25 countries worldwide recognise the island and Taipei would lose its only diplomatic foothold in Europe should the Vatican end recognition.
It would be a major step for the Vatican to end recognition of Taiwan - the Holy See has never before unilaterally cut diplomatic ties.
Bishop Zen insisted China would have to guarantee genuine religious freedom before there would be any changes.
"Religion is different from politics; it's a very important part of life and each religion should be respected," he said.