Former Taiwan vice president to attend Pope Francis funeral

23/4/2025 16:41

A former Taiwan vice president will attend this weekend's funeral of Pope Francis as the special envoy of President Lai Ching-te, the island's foreign ministry said on Wednesday after it had earlier hoped that Lai would attend.



Chinese-claimed Taiwan maintains formal diplomatic relations with the Vatican, one of only 12 countries to do so, and any international trips by Taiwanese presidents inevitably attracts strong opposition from Beijing.



Taiwan has watched nervously in recent years as Pope Francis sought to improve ties with China, though earlier on Wednesday Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu said ensuring Lai could attend the funeral was the ministry's "most important aim".



A few hours after saying that, the foreign ministry announced that former vice president Chen Chien-jen, a devout Catholic who has attended Vatican events previously, would go to the funeral as Lai's special envoy.



The ministry said that after discussions between Taiwan and the Vatican, it had been decided to send Chen, adding Chen had met Francis on six previous occasions and "had a deep relationship" with him.