Vice President Wu Den-yih returned to Taiwan on the evening of April 30, completing a five-day trip to the Vatican and Italy, where he attended the canonization of the late Popes John XXIII and John Paul II. The vice president delivered remarks at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport upon his arrival, explaining the achievements of this trip.
In remarks, Vice President Wu stated that when he attended the canonization ceremonies for two late popes on April 27, he was among the representative delegations from over 90 countries, while over 800,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square to pay respect to the late popes John XXIII and John Paul II. He said that the entire ceremony was extremely impressive.
Vice President Wu also mentioned that before the ceremonies began he exchanged pleasantries with the heads and deputy heads of state from allies of the ROC who also attended the proceedings, and he passed along the greetings of President Ma Ying-jeou. In addition, he noted, the Vatican arranged for him, as the head of the delegation from the ROC, to meet with Pope Francis, whom he congratulated on the success of the canonization. Vice President Wu remarked that Pope Francis is extremely approachable, genial, and broad-minded. The vice president, on behalf of President Ma, presented to Pope Francis a portrait painted by artist Liang Dan-feng (梁丹丰), and while speaking at the airport he reported that Pope Francis was as charming as the portrait made him out to be.
Vice President Wu stated that during his stay in the Vatican he met with a number of cardinals, archbishops, and priests who had previously visited Taiwan. Several of these clergy members had resided and served in Taiwan for many years, and the vice president expressed his deepest appreciation for their work. In addition, he said, during discussions with overseas compatriots residing in Italy he mentioned progress achieved by the ROC in recent years, including the fact that that the number of jurisdictions that offer ROC nationals visa-free courtesies or landing visas has risen over the past six years from 54 to 135 today. This, he commented, has provided greater convenience for people from the ROC who travel overseas for tourism, business, or study.
Lastly, the vice president reiterated his gratitude to all of the members of the delegation and the staff for their hard work to make this trip a success.
Among those at the airport to welcome Vice President Wu and his delegation back to Taiwan were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添) and Mrs. Yang, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L Lin (林永樂) and Mrs. Lin, and the Vatican's envoy to the ROC, Charge d'Affaires a.i. Monsignor Paul Fitzpatrick Russell.