Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
StosunkiMiędzynarodowe-InternationalRelations
nr2(t.55)2019
ISSN0209-0961
doi:10.7366/020909612201901
ARTYKUŁY
HolySee-China-Taiwan:ACross-StraitTriangle
FabrizioBozzato
TamkangUniversityinTaipei
TheHolySee,withterritorialresidenceistheVaticanCityState,istheonly
sovereignEuropeanentitywithdiplomatictiestotheRepublicofChina(ROC),
theofficialnameforTaiwan,whichpresentlyhasfifteendiplomaticalliesintotal.
HolySee-ROCrelationswereestablishedin1942.In1971,whentheROClost
itsseatintheUN,thepositionofthePontificalrepresentativeinTaiwanwas
downgradedfromambassadortochargéd’affaires,andithasremainedsoever
after.TheHolySeeandrelationswithitareunlikethosewithothersovereign
entities,whichareofteninfluencedbygeopoliticalorcommercialconsiderations.
TheApostolicPalaceisnotinterestedinreceivingforeignaidorsigningtrade
agreements,butinsecuringreligiousfreedomfortheCatholicflockandrespecting
humanrights.ThiscanplayinfavourofTaiwanwhenitcomestopreservingits
formalrelationswiththeHolySee.ThePeople’sRepublicofChina(PRC)demands
thattheVaticanconformstotheone-Chinapolicybyseveringitsdiplomaticties
withTaiwan,asoneofthetwoconditionsfornormalizingrelationswithBeijing.
The2018ProvisionalAgreementbetweentheHolySeeandthePeople’sRepublic
ofChinaontheAppointmentofBishopsmarkedaturningpointintheSino-Vatican
dynamics.Yet,aslongasthereisnoactualreligiousfreedomfortheCatholicChurch
inChina,theHolySeeremainsveryreluctanttoswitchdiplomaticallegianceto
thePRC.However,the2018agreementandtheélanofthePapalpolicytowards
Chinaperhapsindicatethat,fortheChairofSt.Peter,diplomaticrelationswith
Beijingmaybe‘wellworthamass’.
Keywords:HolySee,People’sRepublicofChina,RepublicofChina,Taiwan,
PopeFrancis
TheHolySee:‘BetweentheROCandahardplace(China)’
‘TheRomanCatholicChurchistheonlyreligiousconfessionwhichhasaccess
tofulldiplomaticrelations’.1Thisisdue,inthefirstinstance,toitscentralizedand
TheauthorreceivedhisPhDfromTamkangUniversityinTaipei.HeisaResearchFellowattheCEMAS
CentreoftheUniversityofRome‘LaSapienza’andattheEUResearchCentreofNationalChengchi
UniversityinTaipei.HeisalsoaVisitingFellowattheInstituteofInternationalRelationsoftheUniversity
