Jeremy Hillman reports for BBC News

A senior Hong Kong bishop says there is now no chance that the papal visit, planned for later this year, will go ahead and that Pope John Paul will now go to New Delhi or Bombay instead. Bishop Joseph Zen was speaking after returning to the former British colony from a meeting in Rome.

A BBC correspondent in Hong Kong says the move has infuriated pro-democracy politicians, who claim Beijing's decision will undermine international confidence in Hong Kong and erode the autonomy of the territory.

There are more than 300,000 Catholics in Hong Kong

There was no official comment from Beijing, but the Union of Asian Catholic News agency quoted a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs admitting that politics was at the root of the decision.

The agency says it was told that since the Vatican maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan it would not be appropriate for the Pope to visit Hong Kong.

Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has vowed to intervene militarily if it declares formal independence.

The decision puts strain on the 'one-country-two-systems' policy under which Hong Kong was handed back to Chinese rule in 1997.

Increased tension

The BBC's correspondent says there are at least 250,000 Chinese Catholics in Hong Kong, along with 120,000 Filipino Catholics.

The Vatican has had no ties with Beijing since the Communists came to power in 1949, but Pope John Paul said after last year's synod of Asian bishops that he would like to visit Hong Kong. It would have been the first visit by a Pope since a three-hour stopover by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

Tensions between Beijing and Taiwan heightened dramatically over the past month. China was infuriated when Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui said on 9 July that Taipei-Beijing ties must be on a "special state-to-state" basis.

Beijing, which has sought to isolate Taiwan internationally, has interpreted Lee's comments as moving closer to a declaration of independence, a step China says would lead to a military confrontation.

'Willing to rethink'

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said that banning the visit by the Pope raised concerns China would reverse its pledge to give Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy.

"Disquiet has been growing among Hong Kong Catholics about what they feel is increasing religious repression on the mainland," the newspaper said.

A Vatican official said in March that the papal state was willing to rethink its relations with Taiwan to forge ties with Beijing, but China insists the Vatican must cut ties with Taiwan before any talks begin.