Holy See, Taiwan commemorate 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations

CWN - October 24, 2012

The Holy See and the Republic of China (Taiwan) have marked the seventieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Msgr. Paul Russell, the Holy See’s chargé d’affaires, said that challenges in diplomatic relations are “not inherent in the fundamental nature of either the ROC or of the Holy See, but rather are derived from external forces” – a likely reference to the Communist People’s Republic of China.

“The relationship between the ROC and the Holy See has remained firm, based on our shared commitment to world peace and the well-being of humankind,” added Vanessa Shih, Taiwan’s vice foreign minister.

The Holy See is one of 23 states—and the only European state—that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The United States, following in the footsteps of numerous other nations, broke diplomatic relations with Taipei and established relations with Beijing in 1979.

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Progress toward our June expenses ($13,107 to go):
$30,000.00 $16,892.93
44% 56%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

There are no comments yet for this item.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Thankfully, electing a pope is not like electing a president. 12 hours ago
Excellent critique of bias in New York Times abortion coverage 13 hours ago
Pope Francis the Frank June 18
“Illegals” are not “Immorals”: A Persistent Immigration Fallacy June 18
News coverage of the Vatican: the blind leading the blind June 18

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Vatican document demands governments protect refugees CWN - June 6
Pope acknowledges 'gay lobby' influence in Vatican CWN - June 11
Pope confirms he is completing encyclical on faith begun by Benedict XVI CWN - June 13