Liu is in so much trouble

After Liu Bainian's hard-line faux pas last week, the People's Republic is out to mend fences. Chinese Bishop Fang Xingyao (CPA flunky or honest-to-God bishop? This says it all: 'vice chairman of the Chinese Catholic Bishop's Regiment') was trotted out to make some peace offerings toward Cardinal-to-be Zen and company.

China's state-controlled Catholic church may invite Hong Kong's newly appointed cardinal, Joseph Zen, to visit the mainland in hopes of improving Sino-Vatican relations, a newspaper reported Sunday.
[...]

"The normalization of diplomatic ties between China and the Vatican is very important, and we hope Cardinal Zen can make a personal effort to help solve the issue," Fang was quoted as saying in Beijing on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's ceremonial legislature.

Read it all from The China Post

Liu noted last week that "the Roman Catholic Church was active in toppling communism in Poland in 1989. He suggested that Zen's appointment was part of a similar strategy in China."

Now there's a guy who knows how to spot a threat to the regime. The problem is you're not supposed to say it out loud to the press. It's a big no-no.