Taiwan’s tussle with mainland China over ties with the Vatican and why it matters

Mainland China’s tussle with Taiwan to forge ties with the Vatican has intensified since the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party took power on the island earlier this year and Beijing tries to reduce its limited number of allies around the world, according to analysts.

Relations between Beijing and the Holy See were cut in 1951 after the mainland launched a crackdown on organised religion and the Vatican is Taiwan’s only formal ally in Europe.

Deteriorating ties between Beijing and President Tsai Ing-wen’s government in Taiwan since she took office have prompted mainland China to step up efforts to poach its allies, including the Vatican, analysts said.

“Under the governance of Tsai, who refused to acknowledge the ‘1992 consensus’, mainland China will inevitably accelerate the speed in establishing relations with the Vatican,” said Liu Xiangping, the deputy director of Taiwan affairs institute at Nanjing University.

The 1992 Consensus is the tacit understanding reached by Beijing and Taiwan that there is only one China, but each side can have its own interpretation of what that means. The mainland considers Taiwan to be a breakaway Chinese province that should be reunited with the rest of the nation.