Macau bishop perplexed by China's ruling on universities

Macau's new bishop is questioning why the Chinese government has refused to send students to a Catholic university on the island.

Bishop Stephen Lee Bun Sang said Beijing recently refused a request from the University of St. Joseph in Macau to admit 60 students from the mainland, the Macau Daily Times reported March 2.

Taiwan's relationship with mainland authorities had generally been improving.

"Fear that we educate some Catholics and clash against the government," he reasoned. "I don't know; that's the only reason I can see."

A Catholic source said he believes China wants to make some observations on Bishop Lee first.

"China is afraid of sending students to Catholic universities where the bishop may oppose them. Maybe they don't know him well enough and want to wait before taking the risk" the source told ucanews.com.