Anthony Ho (賀忠義), the new ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Holy See, presented his Letter of Credence to Pope Leo XIV yesterday, officially beginning his tenure.
Ho succeeded Matthew Lee (李世明), who retired as Taiwan's ambassador to the Holy See and left the Vatican in May.
Speaking with CNA, Ho said that when he presented the Letter of Credence, he expressed sincere greetings to the pope on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德), Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍).
Photo courtesy of the ROC Embassy in the Holy See via CNA
He said that as a Catholic, he also sent the prayers of Taiwan's Catholics to the new pope during their meeting.
Ho told Pope Leo XIV that Taiwan supports freedom of religion and has always extended a helping hand when natural disasters, health risks and military conflicts hit the rest of the world.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, for example, Ho said then Pingtung County Magistrate Pan Men-an (潘孟安), who currently is Presidential Office secretary-general, donated intubation equipment designed by three Taiwanese physicians to Peru to protect medical staff treating COVID-19 patients.
As the pope, who was then Bishop of Chiclayo, was the person who received the gift from Pan, Ho said the encounter created a close link between the pope and Taiwan.
The pope said he was very impressed by Taiwan's donation and kindness, in particular as COVID-19 had a negative effect on global health.
The pope also expressed his gratitude for the assistance of Taiwan's government and people to Catholic churches and said he would pray for peace in Taiwan, according to Ho.
Taiwan's new ambassador to the Holy See said Taiwan would continue to strengthen cooperation with the Vatican in pushing for humanitarian aid and creating the opportunity for more people to know "Deus caritas est," or God is love.
The Holy See is the only formal diplomatic ally of Taiwan in Europe. Formal diplomatic ties were established in 1942 when the ROC government was still based in mainland China.
In 2018, Beijing and the Vatican struck a historic deal to work together on appointing Chinese bishops, which was extended for a third time in late 2024.
Tensions in the relationship have developed since then after Beijing contravened the agreement by unilaterally making the appointments.
Taipei on Thursday held urban resilience air raid drills, with residents in one of the exercises’ three “key verification zones” reporting little to no difference compared with previous years, despite government pledges of stricter enforcement. Formerly known as the Wanan exercise, the air raid drills, which concluded yesterday, are now part of the “Urban Resilience Exercise,” which also incorporates the Minan disaster prevention and rescue exercise. In Taipei, the designated key verification zones — where the government said more stringent measures would be enforced — were Songshan (松山), Zhongshan (中山) and Zhongzheng (中正) districts. Air raid sirens sounded at 1:30pm, signaling the
The number of people who reported a same-sex spouse on their income tax increased 1.5-fold from 2020 to 2023, while the overall proportion of taxpayers reporting a spouse decreased by 4.4 percent from 2014 to 2023, Ministry of Finance data showed yesterday. The number of people reporting a spouse on their income tax trended upward from 2014 to 2019, the Department of Statistics said. However, the number decreased in 2020 and 2021, likely due to a drop in marriages during the COVID-19 pandemic and the income of some households falling below the taxable threshold, it said. The number of spousal tax filings rebounded
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is