Chinese Foreign Ministry Sunday issued a statement to express its
"utmost indignation" and "strong protest" against a "canonization"
ceremony held by the Vatican.
Following is the full text of the statement:
In
disregard of the strong opposition of the Chinese side, the Vatican
held on October 1 a ceremony for the "canonization" of a number of
foreign missionaries and their followers, who committed notorious
crimes in China. The Government, people and the Catholic Church of
China hereby express their utmost indignation and strong protest
against this matter.
As
is known to all, some foreign Catholic missionaries were the very
perpetrators and accomplices in colonialist and imperialist
invasion of China in the contemporary history. Some of those
canonized by the Vatican this time perpetrated outrages such as
raping and looting in China and committed unforgivable crimes
against the Chinese people. With regard to these crimes, the
Vatican has never repented. Instead, it has now gone so far as to
canonize these evil-doing sinners. This is a flagrant provocation
against the Chinese people, an act aimed at reversing the verdict
on the history of colonialist and imperialist invasion of China,
and a gross insult to the Chinese people' patriotic resistance
against foreign aggression and oppression. In doing so, the Vatican
has seriously hurt the national pride and dignity of the Chinese
people.
The Vatican, while expressing its intention to improve its
relations with China, has time and again gone against its own
commitment to non-interference in China's internal affairs and that
on the question of Taiwan. Now it has stubbornly insisted on the
canonization, which has severely damaged the very basis of the
normalization of China-Vatican relations. It will exert a grave
negative impact on the normalization process. The Vatican should be
held responsible for all this.
(Xinhua 10/01/2000)