A SENIOR Vatican cardinal is to hold talks in Taiwan this week amid speculation that Rome is preparing to break its links with the island and establish diplomatic relations with Beijing.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the former Vatican Foreign Minister, arrives in Taipei on Friday for a week-long visit, including a meeting with Chen Shuibian, the Taiwanese President. Vatican sources said that, as the Foreign Minister from 1990 until November 2003, the cardinal knew “the inside story” of the Vatican’s troubled relations with China. In his current post as the head of the Secret Archives, he remained “one of the Pope’s confidants”.

Diplomats said that Vatican moves to mend fences with China had the “active backing” of the Bush Administration. Francis Rooney, the new US Ambassador to the Holy See, said that Mr Bush hoped that a rapprochement would give “further impetus to religious freedom in China”.

Taiwanese officials said that Cardinal Tauran’s visit had been long planned, and there was “nothing new to signal”. President Chen would present the French-born cardinal with a medal in recognition of his work in favour of Taiwan-Vatican relations. “He wouldn’t be coming to Taiwan if he was going to say anything bad about us,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Taipei said.

Last month Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Secretary of State, said the Vatican was ready to move its ambassador in Taipei to Beijing “immediately”, provided that China guaranteed full religious freedom to Christians and treated the Vatican “fairly”. This coincided with reports that China was allowing the Pope to “sanction” the appointment of bishops in the state-controlled Chinese Catholic church, the “Patriotic Association”.

Cardinal Roger Mahony, the Archbishop of Los Angeles, and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the Archbishop of Washington, have recently visited China. Cardinal Mahony said he was very optimistic that ties between the Vatican and Beijing would be established.

The Cardinal said that the distinction between the official and underground churches was “blurring and disappearing” and both now displayed portraits of Pope Benedict.

Tensions remain. Last month Beijing reneged on promises to grant visas enabling four Chinese bishops to attend a Synod of Bishops in Rome, and to allow the Sisters of Mother Teresa to open a home for the elderly in Qingdao.

Last week the US-based Cardinal Kung Foundation said China was still harassing Catholics loyal to Rome and had recently detained an underground Catholic priest and ten seminarians.

UNRECOGNISED

It competes in sports events under the neutral name “Chinese Taipei”

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