Father Andrew Ding Wang, 44, was ordained today under the 2018 Sino-Vatican agreement. Leo XIV conferred on him the title of archbishop, as required by the jurisdiction of the Holy See (and the history of the local Church), even though China has no metropolitan sees. Three of the four bishops chosen in recent weeks in China were born after 1980.
After two years of renovation work, a solemn mass will inaugurate the building again. Local and provincial government officials will attend. Government money paid for most of the work. Known as the Stone House Church, it is mainland China’s only granite Gothic church.
They were building the offices of the Farmers’ Daily, a government newspaper that was supposed to defend them.
This figure is three times that previously estimated by the government. The first substantial survey on faith conducted by two university professors and published on government media shows that Christianity is the religion that has grown the most over time.
The Taiwanese are openly discussing the responsibilities of the late dictator in the 228 massacre and the White Terror. The Kuomintang accuses the government of trying to deny the past. President Chen reshuffles his cabinet to show who is in charge and prepare the next elections.
During a press conference, 23 lawmakers from the ruling Uri Party announce they are leaving to form a new party to run in the next elections scheduled for December. Other Korean parties are critical of the move.
The two countries sign few agreements but show much interest in one another. To counter charges of economic colonialism, Hu promises greater imports from Africa. President Mbeki says he and Hu are working for a solution to the Darfur crisis.
The Japanese government said it would stop sending energy and humanitarian aid to the people of the north unless concrete steps were taken towards denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
The economic accord with Washington is seen as a threat to farmers and small businesses. Meanwhile, Seoul’s economy ministry is warning against investing in Vietnam.
First meeting of writers from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan takes place in the former British colony. Some 20 mainland writers were advised not to come or were blocked. The Communist Party opposes any revision of the country’s past as Hu Jintao’s ‘harmonious society’ appears to be nothing more than an empty slogan.
The government gave the Chinese president a warm welcome and announced economic exemptions for Chinese firms. But workers and the opposition greeted Hu with protests and criticism. Beijing stands accused of exploiting miners and textile workers, taking away the country’s precious copper and opening fire on workers who protest. In Sudan, business was the only topic of discussions.
Diplomatic incident spoils inauguration of Beijing-funded stadium. The Caribbean island nation broke off diplomatic relations with Taipei only in 2005. Taiwanese bank now wants repayment of money from previous loans.
Reporters without Borders denounced the ever growing Chinese censorship of the Internet. 52 cyber-dissidents are in prison, five times more than the rest of the world put together. There is the danger that this model of censorship may be perfected and applied in the rest of the world.
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