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.”
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
LONG-HELD POSITION: Washington has repeatedly and clearly reiterated its support for Taiwan and its long-term policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said that Taiwan should not be concerned about being used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing US-China trade talks. “I don’t think you’re going to see some trade deal where, if what people are worried about is, we’re going to get some trade deal or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio told reporters aboard his airplane traveling between Israel and Qatar en route to Asia. “No one is contemplating that,” Reuters quoted Rubio as saying. A US Treasury spokesman yesterday told reporters
RSS