Pope Francis Accepts Invitation To Visit Taiwan In 2019 - Vice President Of Taiwan

Pope Francis Accepts Invitation to Visit Taiwan in 2019 - Vice President of Taiwan

Pope Francis has responded favorably to Vice President of the Republic of China (ROC) Chen Chien-jen's invitation to visit Taiwan next year, Chen said on Tuesday as he returned from the Vatican.

BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2018) Pope Francis has responded favorably to Vice President of the Republic of China (ROC) Chen Chien-jen's invitation to visit Taiwan next year, Chen said on Tuesday as he returned from the Vatican.

Chen started his visit to the Vatican on October 11. On Sunday, he held a meeting with the pope and invited him to visit Taiwan.

"The pope responded to the invitation in a cordial and friendly manner," Chen told reporters, as quoted by the Taiwanese Central news Agency.

Chen added that he had met with delegates from other countries during his visit, and he had also held talks with several high-ranking officials from the Vatican on charity and humanitarian programs-related cooperation.

Chen emphasized that Taiwan would continue being Holy See's essential partner in promoting peace, freedom of faith, democracy and human rights worldwide.

The invitation was extended against the backdrop of the agreement that the Vatican and China reached on September 22, enabling the pope to appoint and veto bishops in China. Since this was an important event in the Chinese-Vatican relations, long exacerbated by disputes on who should be in charge of such appointments, Taiwan was concerned that the move might mean the Vatican's intention to give up on its diplomatic ties with Taiwan and establish ties with China instead. However, Chen voiced his belief that the Chinese-Vatican agreement was not a political one and would not affect the Taiwan-Vatican relations.

China continues qualifying Taiwan as its territory in spite of the ROC independence claims. While the Vatican is among the states that recognize Taiwan, it does not have diplomatic relations with China.