China frees Catholic bishop after 10 years

BY FREDDY GRAY
A CHINESE Catholic bishop has been released after spending more than 10 years in prison.
The Cardinal Kung Foundation, a United States-based human rights group which campaigns on behalf of persecuted Chinese Catholics, announced that Auxiliary Bishop An Shuxin of Bauding, in the Hebei province of northern China, has been set free.
Bishop An, 57, was arrested in May 1996 for being part of the unofficial underground Church in China. The bishop has not been seen in public since then, except for once in 2000 when he was allowed to visit his mother for the Chinese New Year. "I will see you in heaven," he is reported to have told her.
The exact details of Bishop An's release are unknown, but the Kung foundation believes that he remains under police surveillance. It is also thought that he has been given formal permission to work as a Catholic bishop in China, even though he has not registered with the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
It is still illegal to profess the Catholic faith without state approval. The news of Bishop An's release, therefore, has struck some commentators as a signal that the Chinese government may be close to relaxing its control of citizens' spiritual lives.
There are rumours that the Vatican is on the verge of brokering an agreement with Chinese authorities to secure religious freedom for Catholics in China.
However, the Cardinal Kung Foundation's president, Joseph Kung, is still unconvinced over China's commitment to such reform. "While the release of Bishop An is a good sign, there are six more bishops in jail," he said. "All other underground bishops are under surveillance, under house arrest or in hiding.
"We hope that this release is not an isolated case, but rather the beginning of many dozens of other Roman Catholic bishops, priests and faithful currently jailed by the Chinese authorities.
"This would show China's sincerity about improving its relationship with the Vatican and its human rights policy."
The six other bishops reported to be in prison include Bishop Su aimin, also of the Ba.oding diocese, and Bishop Shi Enxiang of Yocan, Hebei. Both men are feared dead.
In July, Auxiliary Bishop Yao Ling of Xiwanzi, Hebei, was arrested for the second time in two years. He remains incarcerated in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei. Fr Li Huisheng, 33, an underground priest in the Diocese of Xiwanzi, was also wrested.
The underground Catholic community responded to the arrests with public protests and petitions for the immediate release of Bishop Yao Liang and Fr Li Huisheng.
The demonstrations prompted a fierce backlash from local police. Some 500 officers allegedly attacked the pmtesting faithful, arresting more than 90 Catholics.
Last year, reports circulated that the Vatican was close to severing its diplomatic ties with Taiwan after it emerged that Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran had travelled to Taipei for a week-long meeting with Taiwan's President Chen Shui-ban. The Holy See's entente with Taiwan the Vatican is the only European State to recognise Taiwan formally is thought to be the greatest obstacle in negotiations with Beijing.
However, there have been no public breakthroughs in recent negotiations.