Relations between Taiwan and the Vatican will not be affected by a recent letter by Pope Benedict XVI to China urging it to respect religious freedom, a foreign ministry official said yesterday.
"We think the letter is apolitical," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said. "We also understand the pope's views on the problems the Holy See encounters when doing missionary work in China."
Yeh was referring to a letter, published on Saturday, in which the Pope addressed the nearly 12 million Catholics in China.
The pontiff called on Beijing to respect their "authentic religious freedom" and warned that China's official church was "incompatible with Catholic doctrine."
The Vatican released the 55-page letter on its Web site. The letter was translated into five languages -- including Mandarin, in both traditional and simplified characters.
China did not immediately respond to the letter, but its Foreign Ministry called on the Vatican to sever ties with Taiwan and not interfere in Beijing's internal affairs in the name of religion.
The Vatican said it was prepared "at any time" to move its diplomatic representation from Taipei to Beijing -- as soon as an agreement with the Chinese government is reached.
This was not the first time the Holy See had proposed to move the embassy, Yeh said.
"However, the Vatican's offer comes with requirements, a long-existing bone of contention between Beijing and the Vatican," she said.
Beijing and the Vatican have repeatedly clashed over the appointments of bishops ever since China severed ties with the Holy See in 1951, setting up its own Catholic church administered by the government.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
RSS