President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday stood among his counterparts from other countries in St Peter’s Square to attend Pope Francis’ inauguration Mass.
Ma and first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) sat in one of the rows reserved for heads of state. On Ma’s right was Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla, while Chilean President Sebastian Pinera was on Chow’s left.
Aside from the five-person Taiwanese delegation led by Ma, others in the VIP section included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US Vice President Joe Biden, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Prince Albert of Monaco and Bahraini Prince Sheik Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Photo: AFP
Prior to the ceremony, Ma was seen having a brief exchange with other heads of state, including Merkel and Biden.
After the Mass, Ma and Chow offered their congratulations to Francis during a brief audience.
The Vatican is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Europe. The two countries have maintained diplomatic ties since 1942.
Photo: EPA
Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesman Calvin Ho (何震寰) said that while the purpose of Ma’s visit was to attend the inaugural Mass, he would not rule out unofficial interaction with other world leaders, especially since Ma is staying at the same hotel as many of them.
The first couple arrived in Rome on Monday and toured the Vatican Museums and St Paul’s Cathedral before visiting the Taipei Representative Office in Italy. In the evening, Ma and the first lady hosted a dinner for the clergy and Taiwanese expatriates living in Italy, as well as for a Catholic delegation from Taiwan.
Ma said that the Republic of China and the Holy See have long cooperated in religious and humanitarian fields, adding that bilateral ties are progressing continually.
The last time a Taiwanese president visited the Vatican was in 2005, when then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) attended the funeral of pope John Paul II.
At the time, an incensed Beijing refused to send a representative to the funeral and filed a protest with Italy for issuing Chen a visa.
This time, China appeared to again be boycotting the inauguration because of Taiwan’s presence, but the Vatican has emphasized it did not send out specific invitations to any countries.
“No one is privileged, no one is refused, everyone is welcome if they say they are coming,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.
Li Xiaoyong, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Rome, said: “There will be no delegation from China. China has expressed its congratulations.”
Bernardo Cervellera, the Rome director of AsiaNews, said the Chinese reaction was “like a broken record — it masks the fact that they do not really know what to do.”
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from