Why the death of Francis puts the relationship between Taiwan and the Vatican to the test – Diepresse.com
Taiwan’s President Lai does not travel to the papal burial, apparently on the advice of the Vatican. The church state is one of the few allies of Taiwan. Despite the persecution of Catholics in China, the Pope was looking for an approach to the KP regime.
Actually, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-Te had signaled to want to visit the funeral of the late papal Francis himself. The Vatican is one of twelve countries worldwide that officially recognize the island republic. But the visit of Lais was probably too delicate to the Vatican. Now the former Vice President Chen Chien-Jen will attend the ceremony in Rome. The Catholic has already hit Francis in the past.
Officially, the Foreign Ministry in Taipeh did not want to confirm printing from Beijing on the Vatican. But before the final decision, it had referred to « concerns » from the church state if Lai should visit the funeral. His two predecessors officially traveled to the Vatican: Chen Shui-Bian 2005 to bury Pope John Paul II, Beijing boycotted the funeral at the time. Ma Ying-Jeou took part in the inauguration of Francis in 2013. At that time, China called on the Vatican to end relationships with Taipei.
