Friday, February 16, 2007

Vatican and China Under Observation (Taiwan)

Taiwan's foreign ministry says it will closely monitor relations between the Vatican and China. That's in response to media speculation that the Vatican will forge ties with China, which would mean breaking ties with Taiwan.

A Taiwanese foreign ministry official said Thursday that relations between Taiwan and the Vatican were stable. He also said a big gap still exists between the Vatican and China, and there are no signs of an immediate reconciliation.

China currently does not recognize the Catholic church. Chinese Catholics can only worship in churches run by the government-sanctioned Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.

China also insists that the Vatican sever ties with Taiwan before establishing ties with China.

That's because China sees Taiwan as part of its territory, even though the two sides have been ruled separately since 1949.

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