When in doubt, ask John Allen
This week Cardinal Tauran, former Vatican Foreign Minister, is on an official visit to Taiwan. The Vatican is the only European state that recognizes Taiwan.
The South China Morning Post, the Hong Kong newspaper I subscribe to online, reported earlier this week that the visit was a precursor to the Vatican withdrawing its recognition of Taiwan and instead establish formal relations with China. Similar is reported in this TimesOnline article from Rome. The Taiwanese press, of course, is aggressively reporting that this is not the case. I haven't seen any Vatican sources commenting on that, but I wouldn't expect it, either. As a state, they do not operate on an image-management system.
HOWEVER, when in doubt, and neither Zenit or Rocco have any info up, I consult JOHN ALLEN. John Allen has some scoop in this week's Word from Rome, including a money quote from Taiwanese Ambassador Tou:
“When I entered the Foreign Service 30 years ago, my first job was to track affairs in Europe, including the Vatican. I remember people telling me, ‘Look out, something is about to happen, the Vatican is going to move its embassy to Beijing'...It’s thirty years later, and we’re still waiting.”
The South China Morning Post, the Hong Kong newspaper I subscribe to online, reported earlier this week that the visit was a precursor to the Vatican withdrawing its recognition of Taiwan and instead establish formal relations with China. Similar is reported in this TimesOnline article from Rome. The Taiwanese press, of course, is aggressively reporting that this is not the case. I haven't seen any Vatican sources commenting on that, but I wouldn't expect it, either. As a state, they do not operate on an image-management system.
HOWEVER, when in doubt, and neither Zenit or Rocco have any info up, I consult JOHN ALLEN. John Allen has some scoop in this week's Word from Rome, including a money quote from Taiwanese Ambassador Tou:
“When I entered the Foreign Service 30 years ago, my first job was to track affairs in Europe, including the Vatican. I remember people telling me, ‘Look out, something is about to happen, the Vatican is going to move its embassy to Beijing'...It’s thirty years later, and we’re still waiting.”
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