Taipei, May 11 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday reiterated that Taiwan-Holy See ties remain strong, amid media reports that Taiwan's relations with its only diplomatic ally in Europe are at risk because relations between China and the Holy See are warming up again.
Taiwan enjoys solid and stable relations with the Holy See and expects continued cooperation with the city state, said MOFA spokesman James Chang in response to a reporter's question regarding improving China-Vatican City ties.
Three bishops have been installed in China in the last three weeks with the approval of both China's government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and Vatican City, the Financial Times of London reported Sunday. It also stated that as many as 20 bishops could be ordained over the coming months with the agreement of both sides.
As Pope Benedict XVI has listed establishing diplomatic relations with China as one of his priorities, the recent assignments signalled significant progress in bilateral relations and could mean that Taiwan's ties with the Holy See are in jeopardy, according to the local Want Daily.
"Religious freedom in China has always been one of Vatican's biggest concerns and we understand Holy See's concerns about the 10 million Catholics in China, " said Chang. "However, Vatican City and Taiwan share the same values and enjoy a longstanding friendship. We expect continued exchanges and development cooperation in the future on the basis of solid relations." He said that there have been extensive exchanges between Taiwan and the Holy See over the years, including visits by five Cardinal Bishops and more than 60 archbishops to Taiwan and a visit by Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng to the Holy See in 2009.
Senior diplomatic officials from China and Vatican City have been meeting two or three times a year in their ongoing effort to re-establish diplomatic relations. The last summit was held in Rome in February, and the next one is expected in Beijing this summer, the Financial Times reported.
It will be a complicated matter for the Holy See to establish diplomatic relations with China because Beijing still would not recognize the large number of so-called "underground Catholic churches" in China, said James Lee, deputy director-general of the MOFA's Department of European Affairs.
Diplomatic ties between China and the Holy See were severed in 1951 and bilateral relations deteriorated further in 2006 when China unilaterally consecrated two bishops who belonged to the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc