The newly elected Pope Leo XIV is unlikely to make any quick decisions regarding the Vatican’s relations with Taiwan and China, said academic Chiang Kuo-hsiung (江國雄) who has studied Vatican affairs for decades.
The new pontiff is facing many pressing global issues, and the cross-strait issue is not expected to be a priority, Chiang said, adding that Taiwan should focus on supporting the Holy See’s mission for global welfare.
Leo was elected on Thursday last week as the 267th head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Holy See, Taiwan’s only formal diplomatic ally in Europe.
Photo: AP
Chiang, a longtime resident of Italy and former senior editor at Vatican Radio, said that while Beijing often attempts to influence relations between Taiwan and the Holy See, there is no need for Taipei to panic.
The Vatican’s diplomacy tends to be measured, he said.
“The Vatican typically does not take drastic actions like a US president would — that’s not its style,” he said
While many analysts are focused on the political implications of the pope’s election, the Holy See’s primary concerns are religious unity and human global welfare, he added.
The pope’s immediate focus would likely be the widespread global suffering, particularly the fallout from ongoing conflicts such as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and tensions between India and Pakistan, he said.
Taiwan should continue to align its efforts with the Holy See’s humanitarian objectives, he said, adding that the nation can help ensure the long-term stability of its relationship with the Vatican by supporting the new pope’s global mission.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS