CHINA: Taiwan, Bargaining Chip in Holy Row With Vatican

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Antoaneta Bezlova

BEIJING, May 16 2006 (IPS) - A confusing sequence of courtship and confrontation that has been taking place between China and the Vatican, in recent weeks, underscores Beijing’s uneasiness in dealing with the Roman Catholic Church.

China’s Communist Party’s oscillation between its patriotic duty and its fear of losing political control casts doubt over the possibility of establishing formal dialogue between one of the world’s largest religions and its most populous country.

Chinese rulers covet the recognition of the Holy See – the only administration in Europe that still recognises the government of Taiwan rather than that of the People’s Republic of China.

Removing Taiwan’s remaining foothold in Europe would be a worthy victory for the communist leadership in Beijing, which speaks of the unification with the independently ruled island as the completion of a sacred patriotic mission.

But acquiring the Vatican’s blessing comes with a price, which Beijing is not prepared to pay yet.

As Chinese leaders fret over political instability and a decay of traditional values, the Communist Party fears that the Holy See’s authority could undermine its own disputed mandate to power, with the religious faith proving a dangerous alternative credo to communism.

“For years they (the Communist Party) have tried to suppress the emergence of a powerful political competitor and have been successful,” says a Western priest in Beijing who wanted his name withheld.

“The Democratic party was short-lived and is nowhere to be seen now; the Falun Gong spiritual movement was outlawed and forced deeper underground. Of course they are worried about the Catholic Church and its appeal to the masses.”

This fear is not historically unfounded. Over the centuries, various religious movements like the Boxers and the Yellow Hats helped bind together protests that were instrumental in the downfall of fading Chinese dynasties.

While the Communist Party is suspicious of any group that could capture the hearts and minds of ordinary people, it remembers in particular the role played by the Roman Catholic Church and the late Pope John Paul II in bringing the downfall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe.

There are estimated to be 12 million Catholics in China, divided between two Catholic hierarchies – the government-authorised Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, and an underground church loyal to the Holy See. The state-approved church respects the Pope as a spiritual leader but doesn’t recognise his authority over national boundaries.

The election of Pope Benedict XVI a year ago had raised hopes that the Holy See and Beijing would establish official ties severed since Mao Zedong expelled the papal mission in 1951, two years after the communist takeover on mainland China. The Vatican has shown willingness to sever its longstanding diplomatic ties with Taiwan, saying the “time is ripe” for Beijing and the Holy See to establish diplomatic relations.

Ye Xiaowen, director of the state administration for religious affairs, confirmed last month that the two sides had been talking about the normalisation of relations. But since his statement made the headlines, the accelerating process of reconciliation has hit hurdles.

In recent weeks, China’s state-approved church ordained two bishops without papal assent, drawing a threat of excommunication from the Vatican. It unilaterally consecrated a bishop in Wuhu, in the eastern province of Anhui, and another in Kunming, in southwestern Yunnan province.

The ordinations drew a strongly-worded reaction from the Vatican, which called them “an unacceptable act of coercion” and denounced them as “grave violations of religious freedom”.

Last Sunday, China also formally installed a third bishop who lacked papal blessing as the head of the Mindong diocese in southeastern Fujian province. Zhan Silu, 45, was among a group of five bishops appointed by Beijing in 2000 in a rebellious act to counter the Vatican decision to canonise 120 Chinese Catholics as martyrs on Oct. 1, the anniversary of the Chinese communist revolution.

The state-run church has dismissed all the criticisms surrounding the ordinations. “The bishops were elected by priests and followers according to democratic election rules after strict appraisals,” Liu Bainian, senior official with the China Patriotic Catholic Association was quoted yesterday as saying by the state news agency Xinhua.

But experts say this year’s ordinations have violated a tacit agreement reached between the two sides after 2000, under which candidates for bishop in China would be approved by both the Vatican and the state-backed Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.

Beijing’s moves reflect its desire to keep tight control over organised religion in China and curtail the infiltration of foreign influence in domestic organisations. The power to appoint bishops cuts to the heart of the authority conflict between the two..

In Vietnam, where religious practices are also tightly controlled, the bishops are appointed by the Vietnam’s communist government but only after approval by the Vatican.

Yet, as much as it is fretful of the Vatican’s influence, China is also eager to win its blessing and thereby isolate Taiwan further. Taiwan seeks diplomatic recognition to shore up its status as a sovereign government. The island is recognised by just 25 nations, almost all of them poor, down from 65 in the early 1970s. The Vatican remains its last European partner.

Last week, the state-run church hinted that yielding more ground to the Holy See in China’s religious affairs would come only after its formal diplomatic recognition of China.

“Once the relationship between the Chinese government and the Vatican improves, the church issues can be resolved,” Liu Bainian was quoted as saying.