ROME — The Vatican and Taiwan celebrated 80 years of diplomatic relations this week with a Rome event featuring the Taiwanese ambassador to the Holy See and the Vatican’s foreign minister.
Taiwan places a premium on its diplomatic status with the Vatican, since virtually all the nations of the world have abandoned Taiwan in order to preserve relations with Communist China, which only admits relations with those who cut off ties with Taiwan.
At present, only 13 nations other than the Vatican recognize Taiwan and most of them are small island nations in the Caribbean and elsewhere.
On Wednesday, the embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Holy See celebrated a triple anniversary: National Day, which commemorates its foundation on 10 October 1911, the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and the Holy See, and the 100th anniversary of the first Apostolic Delegate to the Republic of China, Cardinal Celso Costantini.
The event was attended by more than 200 people, including the Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, and the dean of the college of cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.
File/Thomas Chung, former bishop of Chiayi City receives the pallium during the papal inauguration after being appointed by Pope Francis as the new archbishop of Taipei (Taiwan), with attendance of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, in New Taipei City, Taiwan, 18 July 2020. (Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto via Getty)
The Taiwanese embassy said the occasion served “to remember the sacrifices of the past 111 years, which have led to the success of the Republic of China as a rich, industrialized and high-tech nation.”
On that occasion, Ambassador Matthew Lee also underlined the role of the Church in the construction of modern Taiwan, saying it has made significant contributions to local society and greatly improved the quality of life of the people.
“The Church has opened schools, colleges and universities that have educated, and continue to educate, thousands of students every year, and has also established, and currently operates, twelve large hospitals and over one hundred retirement homes,” Lee said.
“It is more important than ever that democracies remain united!” the ambassador stated, asserting that “peace is possible when arms are silent and dialogue begins.”
“Taiwan will continue to consolidate cooperation with those nations with similar views to safeguard regional peace and stability in order to guarantee the very existence of global democracy,” he added.
“The goal is to demonstrate to the international community that Taiwan is a positive force in the world,” he said.
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