SCMP: Pope barred from SAR by Beijing

[bich dao <daotb@yahoo.com>]

                      Monday, August 9, 1999
                                
               Pope barred from SAR by Beijing

             MOIRA SHAW and JO PEGG 

             A visit by the Pope to Hong Kong has been
             blocked by Beijing because of Vatican
             links with Taiwan. 

             Vatican chiefs lobbying for an SAR
             stopover during the Pope's Asian tour,
             planned for November, were rebuffed by
             mainland officials because the Vatican has
             diplomatic ties with Taiwan. 

             Hong Kong Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiu said
             on his return from a top-level meeting in
             Rome that the visit had been ruled out and
             the Pope would probably go to New Delhi
             or Bombay instead. 

             "He is definitely not coming," he said,
             declining to make any further comment on
             the matter. 

             Itineraries for papal tours are usually
             made public up to a year in advance, but it
             is believed the Vatican delayed an
             announcement this time because it was
             hopeful of late approval from Beijing. 

             A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman
             told the Union of Asian Catholic News
             agency that politics was at the root of the
             decision. 

             "As the Vatican maintains so-called
             diplomatic relations with Taiwan,
             obviously it is not appropriate for the
             Pope to visit Hong Kong," he is reported
             to have said. 

             Pope John Paul said after last year's Synod
             of Asian Bishops that he would like to
             visit Hong Kong, a move that local Church
             heads said at the time would test the "one
             country, two systems" policy for the SAR. 

             The Church has at least 250,000 practising
             Chinese members here as well as 120,000
             Filipino Catholics. 

             The Catholic Church on the mainland is
             divided into an official
             government-established church and an
             underground church. 

             Father Peter Robb, who holds Tagalog
             masses for Filipino Catholics through the
             Catholic Centre, said yesterday he was not
             surprised by the move. 

             He said the "two systems" principle had
             been eroded "little by little" since the
             handover, and Hong Kong was now caught
             in the middle of the rift between Beijing
             and Taipei. 

             "It appeared to work out very well in the
             beginning, but in more recent times I think
             they're tightening the screw a little bit." 

             It was the second time in as many months
             that Church officials had raised concerns
             over "one country, two systems". 

             The local head of the Catholic Church,
             Cardinal John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung, in
             June made a rare attack on the SAR
             Government. 

             He said its handling of the right of abode
             issue was a threat to the SAR's autonomy
             which would undermine international
             confidence in Hong Kong. 

             The legislator and convenor of The
             Frontier, Emily Lau Wai-hing, said that
             blocking the Pope's visit would not only
             create a bad image for the SAR but also
             aggravate cross-strait tension. 

             "This is very absurd and too harsh," she
             said. 

             Members of the local congregation were
             united yesterday in their disappointment
             that they would not see the Pope. 

             "Hong Kong is not communist,"
             parishioner Thelma Tanada said outside
             the cathedral in Mid-Levels. 

             "It's supposed to be free - they should let
             the Pope come but they're interfering." 

             "It's religious discrimination," said Glenda
             Obas. 

             The last papal visit to Hong Kong came in
             the form of a three-hour stopover by Paul
             VI in 1970. 

                                                       

                                                            
                                                   Related
                                                   Stories:

                                                 COMMENT -
                                                    MAIN
                                                  Banning the
                                                    Pope

                                                       

                                                  Print a copy


                                                Send this article
                                                  to a friend

                                                       

               




_____________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com