President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) will lead an official delegation to attend Pope Francis’ inauguration Mass in Rome on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The five-member delegation will leave for Rome tomorrow evening to attend the Mass at 9:30am on Tuesday and fly back to Taiwan that evening. The three other members of the delegation are National Security Council Secretary-General Jason Yuan (袁健生), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Shih (史亞平) and Fu Jen Catholic University president Vincent Chiang (江漢聲).
Shih said the Holy See has invited the president to visit some churches during his short trip. Ma will also visit the nation’s embassy and meet with Taiwanese Catholic groups in Rome.
In light of Ma’s planned trip, Beijing yesterday renewed its demands for concessions from the Vatican in their long-running battle for supremacy over Chinese Catholics and called on Taiwan to “bear in mind the overall situation and deal prudently with sensitive issues.”
Shih dismissed Beijing’s call for the Vatican to sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and said the city-state remained a strongly supportive ally of Taiwan.
“The diplomatic ties between the Republic of China [ROC] and the Vatican remain strong, and we believe the Holy See cherishes our friendship deeply. The president’s trip to Rome is the best example of our strong ties with the Holy See,” she said.
The ROC and the Vatican established diplomatic ties in 1942.
The Vatican’s top envoy to Taiwan, Monsignor Paul Russell, said the Holy See “will be very happy” to welcome Ma and “will receive him with every honor.”
Russell said the Holy See is grateful to Ma for his congratulatory message on the occasion of the election of Pope Francis.
The last time a Taiwanese president visited the Vatican was in 2005, when then-president Chen Shui-bian attended the funeral of pope John Paul II.
An incensed Beijing refused to send a representative and filed a protest to Italy for issuing Chen a visa.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected as Pope Francis on Wednesday. Shih said the ministry first planned for the first couple to attend the new pope’s inauguration followed the resignation of pope Benedict XVI, and began preparations for the trip immediately after the new pope was elected.
The ministry did not announce Ma’s trip until yesterday. Its decision to invite only two media outlets — the Central News Agency and SET-TV — to cover the event also raised protests from other media outlets.
After confirming the first couple’s attendance on Thursday, the ministry informed the two news outlets later that night to prepare for the trip to Rome. The ministry will cover the expenses of the trip for the accompanying journalists.
Shih blamed the controversial selection of media outlets on the limited time to prepare for the trip and said the ministry and the Presidential Office tried to make a fair selection by inviting the two media outlets, which are on the rotational shift next week to cover Ma’s events in the Presidential Office, to cover the trip.
“As the two media outlets will provide news and footage for local press and TV stations, the ministry will pay for their trips,” she said.
According to the ministry’s plan, the delegation will fly to Rome at 11:20pm tomorrow night via chartered plane and will take the chartered flight back to Taiwan at 22:30pm on Tuesday.
Shih said the ministry has instructed the representative office in Rome to arrange for a courtesy visa for the first couple to meet international conventions.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and AFP
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
RSS