Pope Francis yesterday received an exuberant welcome in Mongolia on the first papal visit to the Asian nation, as he sent a message of “unity and peace” to neighboring China in a bid to improve ties.
The 86-year-old pontiff’s trip through Monday to the Buddhist-majority nation is a gesture of support for its tiny community of Catholics numbering about 1,400 — but at the same time a strategic move to improve Vatican ties with Beijing and Moscow.
Francis arrived yesterday morning following a nine-hour journey from Rome, greeted by a line of Mongolian honor guards in traditional blue, red and yellow attire upon his arrival, along with Mongolian Minister of Foreign Affairs Batmunkh Battsetseg.
Photo: AP
He then headed to the home of Bishop Giorgio Marengo, the Catholic Church’s youngest Cardinal, where children waving the flags of Mongolia and the Vatican chanted: “Long live the pope.”
Local children sang songs about “Mongolian happiness” as they waited for the pope, with lyrics declaring: “Mongolia is full of freedom, peace, joy and a bright future.”
Sister Aleth Evangelista said she and her fellow nuns felt “very blessed and fortunate to welcome the pope in this country.”
“Mongolia is a non-Christian country, most of the people are Buddhist and Shamanist, but the pope is here to foster peace and communion among all people,” she said.
The voyage is Francis’ second to the region in a year after a trip to Kazakhstan in September last year, underscoring the geopolitical importance of the sensitive area.
The pontiff told journalists aboard the papal plane that the vast, sparsely populated country of Mongolia was one that “can be understood with the senses.”
Asked by a journalist whether he found diplomacy difficult, the pope answered: “Sometimes you need a sense of humor.”
The visit — Francis’ 43rd voyage in his decade as head of the Catholic Church — is also crucial in keeping the door open for improved Vatican ties with Beijing and Moscow, which have yet to offer the pope an invitation.
The Holy See last year renewed a controversial deal with China on the thorny issue of bishop appointments, and Francis has sought to broker an end to the war in Ukraine with Russia.
As the plane passed over Chinese airspace, the pontiff, following custom, sent a telegram to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), bearing “greetings of good wishes” to him and the Chinese people.
“Assuring you of my prayers for the well-being of the nation, I invoke upon all of you the divine blessings of unity and peace,” he wrote.
Beijing said that it was keen to “strengthen mutual trust” with the Vatican and that the pope’s words “reflect friendship and goodwill.”
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS