Taiwan’s former vice president has met with Pope Francis in the Vatican. Chen Chien-jen was acting as President Tsai Ing-wen’s special envoy at a holy mass held on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square.
Chen, who is a devout Catholic, says he conveyed President Tsai’s greetings to the Pope and asked him to pray for Taiwan. The Pope, Chen says, asked Chen to join him in praying for world peace.
Vatican City is one of 14 states that enjoy full diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
But under Pope Francis’ leadership, the Holy See has attempted to mend relations with China. In 2018, Beijing and the Vatican struck a secretive deal to work together on appointing Chinese bishops.
Beijing does not allow countries to recognize both Taiwan and China, so if the Vatican were to set up official relations with China, it would need to cut its decades-old ties with Taiwan.