Former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) on Sunday presented two gifts to the newly inaugurated Pope Leo XIV and had a chance to speak with other dignitaries at his inaugural Mass at the Vatican.
Representing President William Lai (賴清德), Chen attended the ceremony in St Peter’s Square, where an estimated 250,000 people gathered to witness the inauguration of Leo. The new pope was elected as leader of the Catholic Church on May 8, following the death of his predecessor a few days earlier.
The dignitaries at the inauguration Mass included US Vice President J.D. Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the Vatican said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via CNA
More than 150 delegations were present at the Mass, representing various countries and organizations worldwide.
Speaking after the ceremony, Chen said he arrived at St Peter’s Square at 8:30am, 90 minutes before the inaugural Mass, which gave him plenty of time to interact with world leaders.
He said he introduced himself to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, with whom he talked about Taiwan’s tech industry, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) new fab in Dresden, Germany.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via CNA
They also discussed the possibility of greater cooperation between Taiwan and the EU in high-tech sectors, he said.
“This is something the EU is looking forward to,” Chen quoted Von der Leyen as saying.
Chen said he also discussed briefly with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz TSMC’s presence in Germany, adding that he talked with Rubio and former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso.
Rubio said he was pleased to see Taiwan represented at the inaugural Mass, while Aso said he was looking forward to visiting the nation again, Chen said.
Aso’s last visit to Taiwan was in 2023.
After the inaugural Mass, Leo received Chen, who presented the new pope with two gifts and a congratulatory handwritten letter from Lai.
One of the gifts was a set of postage stamps featuring Taiwan’s most iconic church architecture, while the other was a photograph of Leo, which was taken in Peru in 2020 when he was Bishop of Chiclayo.
The photograph shows then-bishop Robert Prevost at a donation ceremony during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Taiwan sent Peru a set of intubation equipment designed by three Taiwanese physicians to protect medical staff treating people.
The pope immediately recognized the photograph, saying: “Yes, I was there,” Chen said.
Chen said he also extended an invitation to the pope to visit Taiwan.
The pope nodded his head, but did not give a verbal response, Chen said.
“The pope is extremely friendly and affable,” he said, when asked about his impressions after his first meeting with the spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Roman Catholics.
Taiwan-Vatican relations would continue to flourish under the new pope, as the two diplomatic allies continue to enhance cooperation on humanitarian assistance, and to promote peace and prosperity, Chen added.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS