Dominic Tang

Tang was born in 1908 in Hong Kong and decided to enter the Jesuit novitiate in Spain in August 1930. Back in China, he studied Catholicism in Shanghai. Tang was ordained a priest in 1941. Pope Pius XII appointed him on 1 October 1950 as Apostolic Administrator of Canton (Guangzhou), and on 13 February 1951 he was ordained titular bishop of Elateia by Bishop Gustave Deswaziere, who said of him: "By accepting the appointment from the Holy See in these difficult times, the new bishop was showing absolute obedience and a spirit of sacrifice." ==Imprisonment ==

Tang was arrested in 1958.'' His sudden release (on June 2, 1980) was due to a developing cancer, he then was given permission to leave the People's Republic of China for a cancer operation in Hong Kong. ==Later years ==

In 1980, the Guangzhou Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association affirmed Tang's status as bishop. Later in 1980, Tang met with Agostino Casaroli in Hong Kong, as part of an effort by the Holy See and the People's Republic of China to improve relations. At the time, both the Vatican and the China viewed Tang favorably. In May 1981, at the age of 73, he was appointed Archbishop of Canton (Guangzhou). The Chinese government contended that his appointment as Archbishop went against the principles of the patriotic church's independence. On 22 June 1981, China's Religious Affairs Bureau removed him from his position as an authorized bishop. Tang was not permitted to return to China. After spending several years in Hong Kong, he went to the United States. He died in Stamford, Connecticut at the age of 87 and was buried at Mission Santa Clara de Asís in Santa Clara, California. ==References==