Taiwan's leader fails to attend Pope's funeral

Chen Chien-jenformer Vice President

I also hope that when the new pope is elected, President Lai Ching-te will be able to represent our country to attend the inauguration of the new pope, which I mentioned in my prayers at the mass,

Chen said

This isn’t just about politics—it’s about the global Catholic mission,

Tu said

There’s no rush, ... The Vatican knows how to wait, and China isn’t willing yet to grant the Chinese Catholic community the same privileges Catholics enjoy in most other nations. This seventy-plus-year rift is just a tiny moment in the long history of the Church and the even longer history of Chinese civilization."

said Dr. Chang Ching, a Senior Research Fellow of the ROC Society for Strategic Studies

The precedent exists for Taiwan’s president to attend a pope’s funeral. In 2005, then-President Chen Shui-bian attended John Paul II’s funeral, so, ... it’s safe to assume President Lai’s team inquired whether Lai could attend Francis’ funeral, and equally safe to assume the Holy See’s response was a negative one."

he claimed