VATICAN TO RECOGNISE CHINA'S BISHOP ORDINATIONS|傳教廷將承認中主教任命權 外交部:台梵邦誼穩

The Holy See is Taiwan's only official diplomatic ally in Europe. It has been reported that the Vatican will recognize Chinese government's official ordination of bishops, and a final agreement will be concluded in Rome. Legislators and researchers familiar with the situation see this as a warning sign for Taiwan's diplomacy, and said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should do its best to maintain Taiwan's diplomatic ties with the Vatican. The Foreign Ministry has made a statement that the Taiwan-Vatican relations remain solid, and the government will continue to watch how the situation evolves. Vice President Chen Chien-jen just attended the canonization of Mother Teresa and met with high-level Vatican officials in September. However, it was reported that the Vatican will now recognize the biships appointed by the Chinese government, and China will ordain at least two new bishops by the end of this year. An agreement is expected be finailized by both sides at the end of the month. Some legislators see this as a warning sign for the diplomatic ties between Taiwan and the Holy See. ==LO CHIH-CHENG DPP legislator== If they agree on the candidates, technical issues will be easily resoved. If they do reach an agreement or are ready to do so, it would definitely put pressure on Taiwan's diplomacy. This is a great warning sign. Some analysts believe that the Vatican is seeking to expand the Catholic church in China and is thus likely to choose China over Taiwan. This may also trigger a domino effect with Taiwan's diplomatic allies in central and south America, since they're mostly Catholic countries. ==YEN CHEN-SHEN, Institute of International Relations== China provides a list of candidates, and the Vatican chooses from the list. If the Vatican is ok with this, then of course they will prefer to focus on China, whose population is much larger. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the government is aware of the exchanges between the Holy See and China, and Taiwan still maintains close ties with the Vatican, with high-level officials exchanging frequent visits over the years. TRANSLATED BY：CHRISTINA LIU 我國在歐洲唯一的邦交國梵蒂岡，外媒報導，教廷將要承認中國大陸官方任命的主教，並且月底，在羅馬做最後協議。長期關心中梵關係發展的立委和學者，都認為這是外交上的一大警訊，外交部應該要竭盡所能，保住邦交。不過，外交部則是發表聲明，強調雙邊邦誼穩固，高層互訪頻繁，會持續關注相關發展。 9月初，副總統陳建仁受邀到教廷參加，德蕾莎修女的宣聖儀式，還和教廷高層會晤，鞏固邦誼。不過，現在卻傳出，教廷將要承認中國大陸官方的主教任命權，中方年底將任命至少2位新主教，教廷會為他們祝聖，雙方月底會在羅馬做最後協議。由於台梵邦交一直傳出生變的傳聞，立委認為，這個訊息，確實是一大警訊。 ==民進黨立委 羅致政== 人選只要一致的話 那技術性的問題 就可以來克服和解決 那如果這個事 的確達成協議 或者準備要達成協議的話 對我們來講 的確是一個外交上 很大的壓力 甚至是一個很大的警訊 長期關心中梵關係發展的學者也認為，教廷主要是想在中國地區傳道，未來選擇教徒較多的中國大陸的可能性很高，而且還可能引發骨牌效應、導致台灣在中南美洲的天主教邦交國出走的可能，外交部要特別注意後續的變化。 ==政大國關中心研究員 嚴震生== 我提供你的名單 然後你來 就是就是在這上面挑選 那大家有這個默契 如果這個默契是 可以讓教廷接受的 那教廷當然就 還是希望能夠 將他牧養的重心 放在人口比較多的大陸 外交部則是強調，我方對教廷和中國大陸的互動情形，都有了解，持續關注相關發展，還強調兩國邦誼穩固、交流密切，多年來，高層互訪頻繁。 記者 陳佳鑫 莊志成 台北報導