” “The presence of the People’s Republic of China at the WYD in Cologne is a small, understandable, mystery. Someone identified them in the 120 young people from Hong Kong easily recognisable among the hundreds of thousands of young people accompanied by their bishop Zhen. However, reliable sources say that in reality the presence at the WYD of the Chinese underground Church authorised for the first time by Peking consists of about twenty young people spread in different groups for security reasons, who are leading the normal life of pilgrims. "The young people from Hong Kong are not guests of the Sant’Egidio Community specified Paolo Ciani to SIR. He is in charge of the international group. They only took part last Wednesday in our prayer on the martyrs of Asia by virtue of our friendship with Bishop Zhen". Sant’Egidio has begun in recent months confidential negotiations with Peking, in particular "meetings are under way, at professorial level, with some representatives of the Academy for Sciences, interested in understand better christianity. This is a very important and influential organisation because it is preparing the reports which are then submitted to the party". The meetings, he added, "are going well; there is great interest on the part of the Chinese and since June Sant’Egidio was chosen as possible intermediary between the Chinese government and institutions of the Catholic Church. The signs are positive but they have to take their own pace in order to overcome so many contrasts which history has accumulated". Also the presence of young people from Hong Kong, according to Ciani, "is already a small sign because they can be a bridge opening up towards the rest of China”.
