The government yesterday mourned the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, saying that the late pontiff “will be remembered for his humility and caring for all humanity.”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has designated former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to travel to the Vatican to pay respects on behalf of Taiwan before the funeral, to be held on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The Vatican said that only official delegations from Italy and the former pope’s native Germany would attend the funeral, although a Rome security official said that at least 60,000 people are expected to visit St Peter’s Basilica on the day of the funeral.
Photo: AP
Benedict died on Saturday at the age of 95 in the Vatican monastery where he lived since retiring in 2013, the Vatican said.
He was the first pope in almost 600 years to resign rather than serve for life.
Pope Francis, who succeeded Benedict, is to preside over the late pontiff’s funeral Mass in St Peter’s Square, the Vatican said.
The foreign affairs ministry said that during Benedict’s papacy, Taiwan and the Vatican had cordial ties, and that he would be remembered for his “humility and caring for all humanity.”
Based on shared common values, the nation and the Holy See are to continue promoting closer humanitarian cooperation, the ministry added.
The Vatican is one of 14 sovereign entities that maintain full diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
A devoted Catholic, Chen was Tsai’s deputy from 2016 to 2020.
Chen previously visited the Vatican for ceremonies in 2016, 2018 and 2019 when he was vice president. His most recent visit to the Vatican was in September last year to attend the beatification ceremony of former pope John Paul I.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS