Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference of Taiwan


The Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference, is the episcopal conference of Taiwan and is the highest organ of the Roman Catholic Church in Greater China. Catholics in the independent jurisdictions of Hong Kong, Macau and Mongolia are represented in the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, not the Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference.

History

When Archbishop Paul Yü of Nanking attended the Second Vatican Council in 1965, Pope John XXIII proposed the development of the Chinese Catholic Church on Taiwan due to the situation of the Church on Mainland China. Part of this development would be to re-establish Catholic schools such as the Catholic University in Peking on Taiwan as well as creating a Chinese episcopal conference. Therefore, the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference was established in 1967 and would serve as the national bishops' conference for all territories claimed by the Government of the Republic of China. In 1973, bishops from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines gathered at Fu Jen Catholic University for the inaugural meeting of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences. In 1998, the conference adopted its current name to reflect the geopolitical situation and remains the only Chinese episcopal conference sanctioned by the Vatican.

Organizational Structure

The conference is led by a president, vice president, and secretary-general. The Secretariat, the highest administrative unit, contains the following 10 commissions:
President: Most Reverend John Lee Keh-Mien, Bishop of Hsinchu


Vice President: Most Reverend Peter Liu, Bishop of Kaohsiung


Note: The Archbishop of Taipei has also overseen the Apostolic Administration of Kinma since 1968.