The Republic of China (ROC) and the Holy See share a strong commitment to the values of freedom, peace and human rights, Monsignor Paul Russell, charge d’affaires of the embassy of the Holy See, said on Sunday at a reception in Taipei honoring the fourth anniversary of the election of Pope Benedict XVI.
Speaking to more than 300 guests, including President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and two cardinals, Russell passed on a message of love and gratitude from the pope to the people of Taiwan.
Quoting the pope, Russell said “frank and constructive dialogue is the key to the resolution of conflicts that threaten the stability of our world. In this regard, the Holy See welcomes the recent positive development in the relations between Taiwan and Mainland China.”
“The government of Taiwan has a keen sense of belonging to a world community, a global human family. This is expressed in many ways, not least in the generosity with which aid and emergency relief is supplied to poorer nations ... The Holy See is pleased to work together with all those who seek to promote peace, prosperity and development, and appreciates the ROC’s commitment to that noble cause,” he quoted the pope as saying.
The president commended the country’s only European ally for its dedication to performing charitable deeds worldwide and for the services that Catholic missionaries have rendered in Taiwan. Ma vowed to continue the country’s partnership with the Holy See to promote important values internationally.
“As a child, I learned about Catholicism and was inspired by Reverend Remi van Hyfte of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At that time, I learned much from the nuns that taught our English classes as well,” Ma said.
Ma said Taiwan shared the Holy See’s emphasis on peace and freedom internationally, citing the recent ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as examples.
This November, the Catholic Church will celebrate 150 years of history in Taiwan.
That history, Russell said, demonstrates the “deep, abiding and unbreakable commitment which the Catholic Church has to Taiwan and its people.”
The pope is expected to name a special envoy at the cardinal level to attend the November event.
In September, the first Asia Regional Pontifical Council Cor Unum will also be held in Taipei, he said.
FLU SEASON: Twenty-six severe cases were reported from Tuesday last week to Monday, including a seven-year-old girl diagnosed with influenza-associated encephalopathy Nearly 140,000 people sought medical assistance for diarrhea last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday. From April 7 to Saturday last week, 139,848 people sought medical help for diarrhea-related illness, a 15.7 percent increase from last week’s 120,868 reports, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The number of people who reported diarrhea-related illness last week was the fourth highest in the same time period over the past decade, Lee said. Over the past four weeks, 203 mass illness cases had been reported, nearly four times higher than the 54 cases documented in the same period
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
UNAWARE: Many people sit for long hours every day and eat unhealthy foods, putting them at greater risk of developing one of the ‘three highs,’ an expert said More than 30 percent of adults aged 40 or older who underwent a government-funded health exam were unaware they had at least one of the “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids or high blood sugar, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. Among adults aged 40 or older who said they did not have any of the “three highs” before taking the health exam, more than 30 percent were found to have at least one of them, Adult Preventive Health Examination Service data from 2022 showed. People with long-term medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes usually do not
Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching