Beijing angry at canonizations.

Beijing--The Chinese regime lashed out angrily at the canonization of 120 martyrs on October 1. The martyrs--87 Chinese and 33 foreign missionaries--were put to death between 1648 and 1930 on Chinese territory. Most died during the Boxer rebellion of 1900, which the Chinese government now interprets as a patriotic movement again St imperialism.

A Beijing Foreign Affairs spokesman claimed that the martyrs committed "enormous crimes." Beijing further stated that the canonization date of October 1, a national holiday of the People's Republic, was intended as a "public humiliation" of their nation.

Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, however, has pointed out that the date of the ceremony had no political significance; it was the feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux, patroness of the missions.

Relations between the Vatican and Beijing have been cool for many years. One reason is the Vatican's diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. Another is the continual illegal consecration of priests and bishops by the Patriotic Association. On February 6 this year, Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan of the Patriotic Association took part in an illegal consecration of five bishops. This was followed by another episcopal ordination without Vatican approval. This is the same Bishop Fu, who at a UN-sponsored millennium summit of religious leaders which ended in New York on Aug. 31, backed up his government's bid to ban the Dalai Lama from the meeting. The Chinese claimed that the Buddhist leader was involved in secessionist' activities.

Earlier Bishop Fu had said in Los Angeles that China was entering a 'golden age' of religious freedom. Apart from the well-known suppression of Falun Gong adherents, the most recent events involving the persecuted underground Church continue to disprove this claim.

On August 19, Father Gao Yi Hua of Fujian province, a priest who had already served two years forced labour was rearrested for refusing to join the Patriotic Association. His present whereabouts are not known.

Also unaccounted for are a priest, a seminarian, two lay people and 20 nuns arrested in Oiku, Fujian, on August 30. Two nuns were later ransomed by parishioners but Father Liu Shao-Zhang was brutally beaten.

The arrest of 81-year-old Bishop Thomas Zeng is the latest in a recent string of attacks against members of the underground Church, according to the U.S. based Cardinal Kung Foundation.

Police arrested Bishop Zeng in his residence on September 14 in Hangpu village, in the Chongren district of the Jiangxi region, news reports said. Between 50 and 60 officers converged on the village and took away the bishop, who was shouting, a witness told the ANSA agency. "The other times the police came they were quite courteous, but this time, it wouldn't have surprised me if they beat him," a neighbour said. Bishop Zeng was taken in a police car to a secret police station, according to one of his relatives.

At the same time, other officers arrested Auxiliary Bishop Deng Hui and Father Liao Haiqing of the same district.

The arrests come on the heels of the Aug. 26 arrest of Auxiliary Bishop Jiang Ming Yuan of Zhao Xian, in Hebei province. He had been consecrated a bishop only weeks earlier.

Also arrested and tortured was 82-year-old Father Ye Gong Feng, in Gongtou village, on Sept. 11.

Since 1957 China has permitted only the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association to function. The association's bishops are not approved by the Vatican. (See our October article "Chinese Catholics under state control").