Former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday said that he has not yet received any official assignment from the government to attend the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Sunday.
Chen said that he is scheduled to attend health-related events in Geneva, Switzerland, and at the Vatican during his upcoming trip to Europe.
“My trip to Europe this time is to speak at a forum on universal healthcare coverage organized by the World Taiwan Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday next week, when the World Health Assembly is having its annual conference,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a new conference in Taipei organized by the foundation.
Photo: CNA
“That would be followed by a trip to the Vatican, where I am scheduled to deliver a speech at a cancer research forum hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which I will preside over from Thursday to Friday next week,” Chen added.
The relationship between Taiwan and the Vatican is solid, and the two share common values: freedom, democracy, rule of law, human rights and humanitarianism, Chen said, adding that both would strive to facilitate world peace and global prosperity.
Pope Leo XIV would make a good pope, Chen said, citing the emphasis he placed on religious freedom and freedom of speech during the first Mass he held on Monday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the pope is scheduled to meet with Taiwan’s ambassador to the Vatican on Friday, adding that the Presidential Office would decide who would represent Taiwan at the inauguration Mass.
As for his upcoming speech on universal healthcare, Chen said he would share Taiwan’s experience in implementing the National Health Insurance system, adding that it is a microcosm of the broader need for universal healthcare.
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