This Wednesday, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) visited a shrine set up by the Catholic Archdiocese of Taipei to pay tribute to the late Pope Francis, who passed away Monday. He was accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister François Wu Chih-chung (吳志中).
After he observed the mourning ritual, the president thanked the Catholic Church in Taiwan for their public welfare work and efforts to aid disadvantaged groups throughout the country. He recalled how Pope Francis emphasized throughout his papacy that “a shepherd must smell of their flock.” Lai said he often quotes these words and puts similar expectations upon himself.
In 2005, then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II along with other heads of state. While it was first speculated that President Lai would attend the funeral himself, the Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday afternoon that former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) would attend the funeral as a special presidential envoy.
Chen was chosen for several reasons: he is a practicing Catholic, he met with former Pope Francis six times, and was appointed as a Pontifical Academy of Sciences member by the Vatican. The decision was an agreement between both members of the Vatican and the Taiwanese government. He will be sent to attend Pope Francis’ funeral this coming Saturday in the Vatican City at 10 a.m. Many other world leaders, including United States President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, have expressed their intention to attend.
Editor's note: This story was updated as of Wednesday evening, 7:20, to reflect the choice of envoy. Previous versions of this article were released before the official envoy announcement.