Taipei (AsiaNews) – Taiwanese President William Lai will not lead his country’s official delegation to Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday. Former Vice President Chen Chien-jen, a devout Catholic, will represent the island’s government.
The president’s attendance is tied to the touchy issue of relations between the Vatican and China, which has always criticised the Holy See for being one of 12 countries in the world that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
In 2005 then President Chen Shui-bian travelled to Vatican City for the funeral of Pope John Paul II while his successor, Ma Ying-jeou, took part in the Mass for the beginning of Francis’s pontificate in 2013.
Even though he is not going, Lai wanted to honour Francis personally and so paid an official visit yesterday to the see of the Archdiocese of Taipei, accompanied by the Deputy Foreign Minister François Wu (Chih-chung), to offer the country's condolences to Archbishop Thomas Chung.
The president offered incense and presented flowers, fruit and a ceremonial cup, before making three ritual bows.
On Monday, right after the announcement of the pontiff's death, Lai issued a statement of condolences posted on social media, stating that “we will continue to draw inspiration from [Francis’s] lifelong commitment to peace, global solidarity, and caring for those in need.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Wu told journalists that the decision to send Chen Chien-jen for the pope's funeral followed contacts with the Holy See. He also mentioned Chen’s six meetings with Francis and his membership in the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, signs of the close relationship between the two sides.
Wu did not directly answer the question of whether China pressured the Vatican not to allow Lai to attend the funeral. Instead, he said that Chen, who served as vice president alongside former President Tsai Ing-wen from 2016 to 2020, was “the best choice under the current circumstances.”
Meanwhile in the People's Republic of China, chinacatholic.cn, the official website of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), finally mentioned the death of Pope Francis this morning, three days after the news first broke.
Titled “May Pope Francis rest in peace”, the article reads: “Pope Francis was called by the grace of the Lord at the Casa Santa Marta on 21 April 2025 at 7:35 am, aged 88. Let us pray that the merciful God may grant Pope Francis eternal happiness in heaven.”
Although very short and not highlighted on the homepage’s CCPA, the fact that it was posted at all is an important sign as it might hint at the possible presence of a member of the official episcopate at the funeral on Saturday.
Asked by a journalist with Reuters whether China would be represented at the funeral and in what form, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jaikun this morning during the daily press conference replied laconically that “I have no information to share at the moment.”
