Taiwan-Vatican relations remain firm and stable, Taiwanese Ambassador to the Holy See Tu Chou-shen (杜筑生) said yesterday in Taipei, stressing that many issues remain before the Vatican would be willing to normalize relations with Beijing.
“I cannot say the Vatican will never forge formal ties with China,” he said. “But such relations will not happen until Beijing commits to respecting basic human rights and the public’s freedom to worship.”
Tu made the remarks at a reception held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday for 11 ambassadors and representatives who returned to Taipei to report on their diplomatic work abroad.
Tu said a lot of foreign media had predicted an imminent severance between Taipei and the Holy See in early May when a Chinese philharmonic orchestra performed in the Vatican auditorium for Pope Benedict at his 81st birthday celebration. The rumors intensified later that month when the Vatican did not follow its usual protocol by promptly publicizing the name of the new papal nuncio to Taiwan.
Taiwan established relations with the Holy See in 1942 and it remains Taiwan’s only European ally.
Tu said that Beijing had been pushing for diplomatic ties with the Vatican for the last six decades, but had failed consistently because it refused to compromise on demands the Vatican cut ties with Taiwan, nor would it promise not to interfere with China’s internal affairs, including freedom of worship.
The possibility of official Vatican-China relations was further dimmed in 2006 when China ignored Catholic Church procedure by appointing its own bishops, Tu said.
“Any members of the Catholic church can attest to the fact that bishops must be named under papal authority. No governments or any other organizations have the right to appoint their own bishops,” Tu said.
Last November, a Vatican delegation visited Beijing and hinted at the possibility of moving its embassy from Taiwan to Beijing.
The Vatican diplomatic mission in Taiwan has repeatedly assured the country that the pope would never abandon Taiwanese in spite of warming relations between the Holy See and Beijing.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS