Hong Kong (UCAN): Archbishop John Hung Shan-chuan of Taipei, Taiwan, does not believe an expected Vatican-China deal on appointing bishops will lead to the eventual establishment of diplomatic relations.
 
He said that establishment of diplomatic relations is hyped up once a year but never comes true. 
 
“The pope will not give up his flock in Taiwan and China,” he said.
 

GUANGZHOU (AsiaNews): Two Vatican-recognised bishops have reportedly been asked to step aside or take on junior positions in favour of illicitly ordained bishops. 
 
Bishop Peter Zhuang Jianjian of Shantou, in southern Guangdong, who was ordained in 2006 with Vatican approval, was asked to give way to Bishop Joseph Huang Bingzhang, who was excommunicated in 2011, but is backed by the Chinese government and is a long-time member in the National People’s Congress.
 

HONG KONG (UCAN): In recent years, whenever a government-backed bishop not approved by the Vatican appears at an episcopal ordination along with Vatican-approved bishops, Chinese Catholics mock it with the saying “mixing sand with rice.”

A priest writing under the name of Father Peter Peng, who describes himself as an observer in northern China, said that the first time he heard the phrase was from the late Father Yan Wenda in 1984.