HONG KONG, June 18 (UPI) -- The Vatican and Chinese government have begun quiet talks over the fate of seven imprisoned elderly bishops, The Sunday Times of London reports.
The talks were disclosed by Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong, who told the newspaper envoys from Rome were in Beijing for closed-door talks.
The report said the seven Vatican-appointed bishops, one of them gravely ill, appear to be "political hostages" in the dispute over the Pope's right to appoint bishops in China and the Vatican's recognition of Taiwan.
Diplomatic tensions heightened further earlier this year when China appointed three bishops not recognized by the Vatican.
"The Vatican's criticism of the Chinese Catholic Church was unfounded and disregarded history and reality," said Liu Jianchao, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry. He said the Vatican must cut its link with Taiwan and "should not interfere in China's internal affairs."
