Thousands of Catholic devotees and officials from the Holy See attended the funeral of Cardinal Paul Shan (單國璽) yesterday, following his death last month after a long battle with lung cancer.
Shan said in his will that because he had kept a vow of poverty throughout his life, his funeral should not be in any sense luxurious, said Kaohsiung diocese’s Archbishop Peter Liu (劉振忠), who was among the attendees at the burial Mass.
In accordance with Shan’s wishes, the chapel at St Dominic Catholic High School was simply decorated with candles and crucifixes, and flower bouquets were not accepted, Liu added.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
After the funeral service, Shan was to be buried in a local Catholic cemetery in a simple coffin on a site no bigger than 1 ping (3.3m2) in compliance with his will, the archbishop said. Also, a foundation will be set up in Shan’s name to care for the well-being of disadvantaged people in an effort to continue the cardinal’s dedication to Taiwan’s less fortunate, Liu added.
Shan, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2006, died on Aug. 22 at the age of 88.
Among the mourners at the funeral were Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai (韓大輝), secretary of the Vatican department responsible for missionary work, Cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君), who also served as the sixth Bishop of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Cardinal John Tong (湯漢).
Vatican State Secretary Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone also paid tribute to Shan and sent condolences from the Vatican to church members in Taiwan. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who also attended the funeral, paid homage to the late cardinal, recognizing Shan’s religious dedication. Master Hsing Yun (星雲法師), founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order in Kaohsiung, expressed his sadness over Shan’s passing as well as the hope that Shan will become a role model of mercy because of his spirit of “sacrificing enjoyments and his enjoyment of sacrifices.”
Appointed to the position of cardinal by the late Pope John Paul II in 1998, Shan was the first Catholic cardinal to serve in Taiwan.
Shan retired in 2006, the same year he was diagnosed with lung cancer and was given four to six months to live. In 2007, he started touring the country, speaking about his faith and his battle with cancer at schools, hospitals and prisons. Known as an advocate for peace, Shan has been praised for his contribution to promoting education and his dedication to helping others.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS