Foreign minister confident in ties with Vatican despite pope's Beijing ambitions外交部長自信與梵蒂岡的關係，儘管教皇的野心北京－愛薇塔樂學英文

Foreign minister confident in ties with Vatican despite pope's Beijing ambitions外交部長自信與梵蒂岡的關係，儘管教皇的野心北京

By Joseph Yeh ,The China Post
August 20, 2014, 12:01 am TWN

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Foreign Minister David Lin (林永樂) yesterday expressed confidence in Taiwan's diplomatic ties with the Holy See despite Pope Francis' latest remark Monday that he desires dialogue with Beijing and possibly a visit to mainland China.

In remarks to reporters on a plane returning to Rome from South Korea Monday, Pope Francis said he wanted dialogue with China and the only thing he asks in return is for the Catholic Church to be able to operate freely.

Pope Francis added that he would love to visit China by saying “Absolutely. Tomorrow” and he also prayed “for the beautiful and noble Chinese people.”

Asked to comment, Lin told the Central News Agency yesterday that he understands Pope Francis' desire to extend his good will to China because there are tens of thousands of Chinese Catholics in mainland China.

However, the Holy See's possible interaction with Beijing will be based on the principle of religious freedom, which is something the Chinese authorities are unlikely to grant for now.

The R.O.C. is a country with religious freedom, in sharp contrast with the Beijing government, Lin noted.

The minister, therefore, is extremely confident that the strong and long-lasting relations between Taipei and the Vatican will be maintained despite Pope Francis' recent gesture of good will to Beijing.

Pope Francis just concluded a five-day trip to South Korea. On his way to the East Asian country as he passed through Chinese airspace, the pope sent a message of greetings to Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping. Returning to Rome from South Korea Monday, Pope Francis again sent a similar message.

Traditionally, popes send telegrams of greetings to heads of state when they enter their airspace.

The gesture, however, is seen by many as symbolizing a thawing of bilateral relations. In 1989, Pope John Paul II had to skirt Chinese airspace during his tours of Asia.

China and the Holy See have been at odds over the Vatican's diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Welcome Pope to Taiwan

Meanwhile, Lin yesterday said the R.O.C. will continue to extend an invitation to Pope Francis in the hope that the religious leader will visit Taiwan in the near future.

Lin disclosed that the nation had previously invited the pope to visit Taiwan during his just-concluded South Korean tour. However, the Vatican declined the offer due to scheduling problems, Lin said.

“We will continue to invite the pope to Taiwan in the future should the chance arise,” he said.

外交部長自信與梵蒂岡的關係，儘管教皇的野心北京

由約瑟夫葉，在中國郵政
二○一四年八月二十〇日，上午12:01 TWN

台北，台灣 - 外交大臣大衛·林（林永樂）昨天表示，儘管教皇弗朗西斯的最新言論週一表示，他希望與北京對話，並可能訪問中國大陸的信心，台灣與教廷的外交關係。

在講話記者在飛機上從韓國週一返回羅馬，教皇弗朗西斯說，他希望對話，中國和他要求的回報的唯一的事情就是為天主教教會要能操作自如。

教皇弗朗西斯補充說，他很想來中國訪問時說：“絕對。明天“同時他還祈禱”，為美麗高貴的中國人。“

要求置評，林告訴中央社，昨天他明白教皇弗朗西斯的願望，延長他的良好意願來中國，因為有中國天主教徒數以萬計的在中國大陸。

不過，教廷與北京的互動可能會根據宗教信仰自由的原則，這是一件好事，中國當局不太可能給予現在。

中華民國是宗教自由，在與北京政府形成鮮明對比的國家，林指出。

部長，因此，是非常有信心，台北市和梵蒂岡之間的強烈而持久的關係將維持儘管教皇弗朗西斯最近的善意姿態到北京。

教皇弗朗西斯剛剛結束了為期五天的訪問韓國。途中，他經過中國領空東亞國家，教皇派遣問候的消息，中國共產黨總書記習近平。回到羅馬從韓國星期一，教皇弗朗西斯再次發出了類似的消息。

傳統上，教皇發出問候元首的電報，當他們進入他們的領空。