President Chen Shui-bian (
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said the Italian government pledged to grant Chen entry to the country in his capacity as head of state.
Chen's attendance at the papal funeral today will mark the first time a president from Taiwan has visited the Holy See since the establishment of diplomatic ties 63 years ago.
PHOTO: TONY YAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The visit will also make Chen the first president from Taiwan to set foot in a European country.
Before boarding a China Airlines charter flight to Rome yesterday afternoon, Chen made a speech at CKS International Airport, hailing the Pope's legacy and expressing condolences for his passing.
"The passing of the Pope is a cause of sorrow for all humanity," said Chen, who is attending the ceremony after receiving an invitation from the Holy See.
Chen said he wanted to join world leaders to remember the Polish pontiff and to cement ties with the Holy See.
He said that "Taiwan is the staunchest diplomatic, most peaceful and most affectionate partner of the Holy See as well as the most loyal member of the international democratic community."
"Taiwan will do its utmost to meet the Pope's standard for soothing fear through courage, resolving hatred through love, overcoming confrontation through peace and calming conflict through reconciliation," he said.
"[We] will also work to pursue a permanent cross-strait peace and open a cross-strait dialogue for reconciliation as a substantial response to the international community's expectations," he said.
Calling the trip "a visit for peace and commemoration," the delegation includes Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山), Taipei Grand Mosque Imam Ma Shiao-chi (馬孝棋), St. Anne Home's Father Jan van Aert and Father Hsing Chao-ming (幸朝明).
The three religious leaders were invited by the president to join the delegation in response to the Pope's call for reconciliation among religious groups, Chen said.
According to Presidential Office spokesman Chen Wen-tsung (
The pontiff's funeral is scheduled to commence at 10am today.
Chen plans to stay in Vatican City for no more than 24 hours and is scheduled to leave Rome for Taipei tonight, the spokesman said.
Ma told the Central News Agency that the president's trip to the Holy See is highly significant.
"This visit will help Taiwan manifest its status as a state. It will also promote Taiwan's national image," he said.
Meanwhile, the agency reported from Rome that Chen Shui-bian will be seated in the front row with other heads of state during the Pope's funeral.
After the funeral, the president will host a lunch banquet for officials from Taiwan's embassy in the Holy See and its representative office in Italy. He will fly back to Taipei after taking a brief sightseeing tour around Rome.
"President Chen's visit to the Holy See shows diplomatic ties between Taiwan and the Vatican remain firm. Our government hopes the Holy See will send an ambassador to Taipei. But we respect the Vatican's decision on the matter," ministry spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said at a press conference.
According to the Financial Times, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, a high-ranking Vatican official, was in Beijing for talks with Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu (回良玉) and religious affairs officials two days before the Pope's death.
The meeting was "the highest-level face-to-face meeting on Chinese soil between a prominent Catholic churchman and Beijing in decades," the newspaper said.
Responding to the report, Lu said it was not unusual for the Vatican to send a priest to China for talks. The purpose of the trip, he said, was to express the Holy See's concern for the well-being of Catholics in China and the development of the Church there.
Archbishop Joseph Cheng (
The visit, he said, was a perfect opportunity to show Taiwan's gratitude to the Pope for his love for the country.
‘DEMOCRATIC FISH’: Soichiro Hayashi said he wants to return Taiwan’s kindness after it helped with relief efforts after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami Japanese fish farmers are ready to help Taiwan after China banned Taiwanese grouper imports, the Sankei Shimbun reported yesterday. The Chinese General Administration of Customs suspended imports of the fish on Monday last week, citing prohibited chemicals and excessive levels of oxytetracycline allegedly found in grouper imports since December last year. Soichiro Hayashi, president of the Hayashi Trout Farm in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture, is leading the push for Taiwanese grouper imports, the newspaper said. His call has caught the attention of several large sushi chains, the report said. Hayashi, who is the Fukushima branch head of the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association in Japan,
‘TROJAN HORSE’ SCHEME: The comment that a bridge would allow China’s PLA to easily launch an attack shows ‘a lack of backbone,’ Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said Critics accused Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of being oblivious to national security concerns after he proposed constructing a bridge to link Kinmen and China’s Xiamen (廈門). Ko, who is also the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman, made the proposal when presiding over the opening ceremony of the party’s office in Kinmen on Saturday. He said the bridge could solve Kinmen’s population, electricity and garbage problems, as well as serve as a shortcut for leaving or entering Taiwan without traveling via Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport). He also proposed building a hospital in Kinmen to attract people who are seeking medical treatment in
OVER THE HUMP: In a seven-day period ending on Wednesday, the nation reported 366,628 new cases, down 19 percent from the 451,358 reported in the previous week The nation might further open up to more arrivals in the next two months, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 48,283 new local COVID-19 cases, down from more than 50,000 in the previous few days. Taiwan on Wednesday last week introduced a plan to allow up to 25,000 arrivals per week as part of efforts to gradually reopen borders, which includes reducing mandatory quarantines for inbound travelers from seven to three days, followed by four days in “self-initiated epidemic prevention.” The quota covers inbound Taiwanese arrivals, businesspeople and migrant workers. Former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday said
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it is monitoring Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship movements near Taiwan, after the Japanese Ministry of Defense disclosed that Chinese vessels made a rare voyage between Yilan County and Japan’s Yonaguni. The Japanese ministry on Wednesday said that two Chinese navy ships on Tuesday diverted from their usual route of entering the Pacific Ocean via the Miyako Strait and for the first time traveled there between Yilan and Yonaguni. The Japan Self-Defense Forces said that it picked up the presence of China’s Type-056A Jiangdao-class corvette 220km north of Yonaguni at 9am on Tuesday. The
RSS