Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) is scheduled to visit the Vatican next month to attend the canonization of six beatified individuals, or “blesseds,” a source said.
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported on the planned visit on Friday, one day before the Vatican and China signed a deal on the appointment of bishops, an issue that for decades has caused tensions between the Holy See and Beijing.
The Vatican is the only European state to recognize the Republic of China and is one of the nation’s remaining diplomatic allies.
Photo: EPA-EFE
While some media outlets have speculated that Saturday’s deal would lead to the Vatican’s breaking ties with Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the same day said the Vatican had assured Taipei that the agreement “is not of a political or diplomatic nature, and will not affect the diplomatic relationship that has been in place for 76 years between Taiwan and the Holy See.”
Pope Francis on May 19 announced that the canonization to sainthood of the six, including pope Paul VI and archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, would take place on Oct. 14.
A high-ranking government official, who declined to be named, on Friday said that as the government attaches great importance to the friendship between Taiwan and the Vatican, as well as numerous cooperative projects that help promote bilateral exchanges, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) decided to designate Chen, a Catholic, to be the government’s special envoy to the ceremony.
Chen led a Taiwanese delegation to the Vatican in September 2016 for the canonization of Mother Teresa.
He was made a knight of the Vatican’s Order of the Holy Sepulcher in 2010 and a knight of the Order of St Gregory the Great in 2013 in recognition of his efforts in the fight against SARS and his academic achievements.
In related developments, an unnamed government official said the Apostolic Nunciature on Aiguo E Road in Taipei, the Vatican embassy, is to reopen soon following two years of renovations.
The nunciature moved from Aiguo E Road to offices in a building on Heping E Road two years ago, amid rumors that China was seeking to establish diplomatic relations with the papal state.
Many people at the time saw the move as an omen that relations between Taiwan and the Vatican were unstable, the official said.
However, the government has been offering the embassy assistance and it expects the nunciature to reopen at its former home soon.
The official added that Taiwan and the Holy See have held activities in recent years that demonstrate their close relationship, citing the first overseas exhibition of historical artifacts from the Vatican, which was held at the National Palace Museum in 2016.
The Ministry of Justice last year signed a pact with the Holy See to cooperate on combating money laundering — the Vatican’s first such agreement with an Asia-Pacific nation, the official said, adding that Cardinal Peter Turkson attended the XXIV World Congress of the Apostleship of the Sea in Kaohsiung last year, which was focused on problems encountered by those who live and work by the sea.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
RSS