Diplomacy: Temptations of 'Virgin Soil'; The Vatican is in the market for lost souls. China is looking for recognition. After the death of John Paul II, is a deal possible?(Cover Story)

Publication: Newsweek

Publication Date: 18-APR-05

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Byline: George Wehrfritz and Katharina Hesse (With Jonathan Adams in Taipei)

Li Zhongmin sits on a bed, smoking. The first clue that the bedraggled 54-year-old isn't your average Chinese farmer is the portrait of the Virgin Mary pinned to the wall above his head. And although he wears a tattered sweater and faded cotton pants, others in the room address him as shenfu -- "priest"--in deference to his status in China's underground Roman Catholic Church. Last week he told visitors how he learned about Pope John Paul II's death on the radio, and shortly thereafter found policemen pounding at his door. "They detained me for a few hours again this morning with four other priests," he explained, recounting what has since become a daily ritual. "It's not a big thing. They tell us that we must not cause disorder or wear clergy clothes."

Father Li is...

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