Taiwan News
Date: 2016-08-24
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Vice President Chen Chien-jen will travel to the Vatican from September 2 to 8 to attend the canonization of Mother Theresa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Wednesday.

The Vatican is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Europe out of a total of 22 allies.

In keeping with the government’s tradition of giving overseas travels by presidents and vice presidents a special moniker, Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Chih-chung said Chen’s trip would be dubbed “Holy Peace.”

Wu emphasized that relations between the Republic of China and the Holy See had existed for 74 years, while Mother Theresa visited Taiwan in 1985. President Tsai Ing-wen had picked Chen, a practicing Catholic, as her special envoy to the September 4 ceremony which would see her become a saint, Wu said. The vice president will take the wishes of the country and of its Catholic community to Pope Francis.     [FULL  STORY]