China said Wednesday it had learned that the Vatican was prepared to sever all relations with Taiwan in order to forge long-suspended diplomatic ties with Beijing.Ye Xiaowen, China's minister of state administration of religious affairs, said after talks with the Vatican's envoy in Washington that Pope Benedict XVI was also prepared to discuss Beijing's insistence that the administration of the Catholic Church in China is an internal matter.
Beijing has imposed two conditions -- recognition of the one-China policy that precludes independence for Taiwan, and of religious affairs as an internal Chinese matter -- for any diplomatic ties with the Vatican.
"First the Pope must recognize that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole representative government of both Chinas, and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory," Ye told reporters.
"We have known from various channels that Vatican has indicated that this is not a difficult issue and of course we are looking forward to seeing the real actions from Vatican," he said.
On the second demand that Chinese Catholicism "must follow the principles of independence," he said the Vatican had said that "this point can be discussed" and added that the two sides had channels for holding talks on it.
"China has always been sincere in stating that it is ready to improve its relations with Vatican as long as the two objectives are arrived at. Then, the relations can be improved," he said.
Ye met with the Vatican's ambassador to the United States Pietro Sambi while attending a meeting at Georgetown University in Washington on Tuesday.
He refused to divulge details of the discussions with Sambi, saying both the Vatican and Beijing had an understanding that "no sides should unilaterally reveal content of the discussions."
The Holy See has long been at odds with China's communist-run church over the appointment of bishops, but in recent months Beijing has appeared willing to appoint church leaders that have the blessing of the Pope.
The situation has evolved since the Vatican has worked to re-establish its relations with China, where Catholicism has boomed in recent decades.
China severed its ties with the Vatican in 1951 in anger at the Holy See's diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.
In a June 2007 letter to the Chinese faithful, the Pope called for unity in an overture widely seen as a call to restart normalization talks.
In 1957, China set up the Patriotic Association, which formally oversees the country's officially registered Catholics.
The association estimates there are up to five million followers of the government-led church.
However up to an estimated 10 million "underground" Chinese Catholics are said to pledge allegiance to the pope, worship in unofficial churches and are often subject to police and government harassment.
Ye also rejected reports that the Pope could visit China amid rumors that officials from both sides were discussing the prospective landmark trip as Beijing prepares to host the Olympic Games this summer.
Liu Bainian, the de facto head of the government-run Patriotic Catholic Church, had said on several occasions that he would like to welcome the Pope to China once an agreement has been reached, reports have said.
"Based on the common knowledge that I have, I believe that it is not possible for the Pope to visit China before the normalization of relations between China and the Holy See," Ye said.
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