President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today.
The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square.
The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said.
Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and close relationship with Francis, the ministry said.
Chen met with Francis six times and the pope personally awarded him the Pontifical Academy of Sciences membership medal, it said.
Francis was a friend to Taiwan during his time as pope, often receiving presidential envoys to the Vatican to attend important ceremonies, the ministry said.
He also expressed condolences and prayers to the victims of the Hualien earthquake in April last year and cared for the Catholic Church in Taiwan, appointing several Taiwanese bishops, it said.
The ministry said it would continue to deepen relations with the Vatican, strengthen religious exchanges and promoting religious freedoms.
Earlier this morning, Lai paid his respects to Francis during a visit to the Catholic Archdiocese of Taipei.
He offered incense, sprinkled holy water, and presented flowers, fruit and a ceremonial cup, before bowing three times.
The president was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) and Archbishop of Taipei Thomas Chung (鍾安住).
Following Pope Francis’ death on Monday, Lai offered his condolences via social media, saying that “we will continue to draw inspiration from [Francis’] lifelong commitment to peace, global solidarity and caring for those in need.”
The Vatican is one of 12 states to maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan and the only one in Europe.
The Holy See and China do not have diplomatic relations, but the two sides signed a historic agreement on the appointment of bishops in China in 2018.
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
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
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