Taiwan welcomes pope as he takes trip to Asia Pacific

THE TOUR:
Pope Francis has gone on a 12-day visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He was also invited to Taiwan

The government yesterday welcomed Pope Francis to the Asia-Pacific region and said it would continue extending an invitation for him to visit Taiwan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks as Pope Francis began a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Monday.

He is to travel about 33,000km by air to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, and would arrive back in Rome on Friday next week.

Photo: Adi Weda, AFP

It would be the longest and most challenging trip of Francis’ 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old has had health issues over the past few years and now uses a wheelchair.

The ministry said in a statement that it is happy to see the pope visiting Asia and meeting with Catholics in the continent, adding that it has maintained smooth and frequent communication with the Holy See and has invited the pontiff to visit Taiwan.

It added that it would continue to promote closer Taiwan-Vatican exchanges and cooperation, including high-level two-way visits.

The Holy See is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Europe.

A pope has never visited Taiwan, despite the Republic of China (ROC) and the Vatican having diplomatic ties for nearly a century. The relations were established in 1942 when the ROC government was still based in China.

Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has publicly invited Pope Francis to Taiwan several times.

However, the Vatican’s relations with Beijing have warmed since he assumed the papacy in 2013.

In 2018, Beijing and the Vatican struck a historic deal to work together on appointing Chinese bishops, which is expected to be extended for a third time later this year. However, tensions arose after Beijing contravened the agreement by unilaterally making appointments.