Rome Newsroom, Oct 23, 2020 / 06:00 am
Taiwan's foreign ministry responded to the renewal of the Sino-Vatican provisional agreement Thursday by highlighting the worsening religious freedom situation on the mainland.
"With the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] dictating all matters, Catholics in the PRC [People's Republic of China] are facing serious challenges to their faith and conscience," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) said in a statement issued Oct. 22.
The government statement indicated that Taiwan has not changed its position on the Holy See's provisional agreement with the Chinese government, which has been extended for two more years until Oct. 22, 2022. The foreign ministry said that Taiwan hoped that it can "improve the worsening situation of religious freedom in the PRC."
"Unfortunately, as the PRC government has stepped up measures to persecute local Catholic communities, such as further suppressing believers who resist being controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and forcing many bishops to join the CCP-controlled Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, religious freedom and human rights in China have continued to deteriorate," the foreign ministry said.