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the last stop of pope francis's trip to asia is singapore, and he is likely to extend an olive branch to china again. as the china-vatican interim agreement is about to expire, francis has frequently made peace, and there have been reports from time to time that the vatican may "break off diplomatic relations" with the taiwan authorities. this time, the taiwan authorities joined forces with "friendly countries" to make trouble at the 79th united nations general assembly, but were also rejected by the vatican.

pope francis

pope francis is about to end his 12-day trip to asia. although his trip did not include mainland china, he mentioned many times in interviews that he wanted to visit mainland china. the last stop of his trip is singapore, where three-quarters of the population is chinese and mandarin is one of the official languages.

this trip is a big challenge for francis, after all, he is 88 years old and needs to use a wheelchair to travel. francis's trip to asia is the longest and most challenging one during his term of office, both in terms of time span and geographical distance.

moreover, francis's visit coincides with the expiration of the interim agreement between china and the vatican, which makes sino-vatican relations an important topic that he has to mention during his visit. recently, francis has been trying to improve relations with mainland china in various ways, whether it is sending greetings telegrams when flying over chinese airspace or sending special envoys for ukraine to talk to chinese representatives, which can all show his attitude towards mainland china.

pope francis and catholics

this time in singapore, a place closely connected with chinese culture, pope francis will certainly find another opportunity to extend an olive branch to mainland china.

last september, francis visited mongolia, a move that sparked much speculation because catholicism has limited influence in mongolia. taiwanese media mentioned that francis might hope mongolia could become a link between the vatican and mainland china.

this makes taiwan feel uneasy. after all, the vatican is its only "friendly country" in europe, and the taiwan authorities pay close attention to every interaction between the vatican and mainland china. when the vatican publicly expressed its hope to "establish a permanent representative office in mainland china," taiwan's foreign affairs department responded quickly, emphasizing that it has a "deep friendship" with the vatican.

tanaka hikaru, deputy director of taiwan's foreign affairs department

although pope francis appointed a special envoy to taiwan to attend the inauguration ceremony of taiwan leader lai ching-te, and a high-level delegation from taiwan's environmental department was also personally received by pope francis at the vatican's international climate seminar.

but in fact, the taiwan authorities' attempt to get the endorsement of "friendly countries" did not receive the support of the vatican. the 79th un general assembly opened in new york, the united states on the 10th. for the first time, the taiwan authorities sent a delegation to washington and new york to lobby, trying to misinterpret un general assembly resolution 2758.

it should be noted that the taiwan authorities have always claimed that "the resolution has nothing to do with taiwan" and that "the mainland has no right to represent taiwan in the united nations." tian zhongguang, deputy director of the taiwan authorities' foreign affairs department, also revealed that they plan to continue to invite 11 "friendly countries" to write a joint letter to un secretary-general guterres and stand up for the taiwan authorities in the debate session of the un general assembly. however, among these 11 "friendly countries", there is no vatican.

the 79th session of the united nations general assembly will open at the united nations headquarters in new york

the vatican's refusal also confirms the news that it hopes to improve relations with the mainland. the vatican must also be aware of the authority of un general assembly resolution 2758 and the unshakable nature of the one-china principle. any attempt to play the "taiwan card" or support "taiwan independence" will be futile and will only put itself in an isolated and helpless situation.

if the vatican really wants to develop relations with the mainland, it must first "break off diplomatic relations" with the taiwan authorities. this is in line with the international trend and the trend of historical development. establishing diplomatic relations with mainland china and adhering to the one-china principle is the right choice.