The Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Holy See () is the diplomatic mission of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(also known as

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

) accredited to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, one of its few ''de jure'' embassies in the world, and the only one remaining in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

.Taiwan's European ally, the Vatican, says remains loyal
''

Taipei Times The ''Taipei Times'' is an English-language print newspaper in Taiwan published by the Liberty Times Group. Founded as the third English-language newspaper on 15 June 1999, it is currently the last surviving English-language print newspaper i ...

'', 12 September 2015 It also has responsibility for relations with the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

.Europe Area
Bureau of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC Its counterpart in the Republic of China is the Apostolic Nunciature to China in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

. It is separate from the

Taipei Representative Office in Italy , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, which functions as a ''de facto'' embassy in Italy.

History

Following the British Empire's defeat of China in the

First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...

(1839-1841), foreign powers required China to permit foreign missionaries. The

unequal treaties The unequal treaties were a series of agreements made between Asian countries—most notably Qing China, Tokugawa Japan and Joseon Korea—and Western countries—most notably the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Unit ...

gave European powers jurisdiction over missions and some authority over Chinese Christians. France sought to frame itself as the protector of Catholics in China, which in turn led to a sustained diplomatic dispute with the Holy See about who had authority over Chinese Catholics. In 1917, the ROC and the Holy See agreed in principle to establish a diplomatic relationship. France, which had framed itself as the protector of Catholics in China since the unequal treaties and had a long-standing dispute with the Holy See as a result, blocked these diplomatic efforts. As a result, Vatican interests in China were represented by an

Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

(which does not have formal diplomatic status) until the 1940s. The Republic of China established relations with the Holy See in July 1942. After Xie Shoukang arrived in Rome on 26 January 1943, the legation was based in the

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

. After the Second World War, the legation was moved to

. In 1951, the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

expelled the

Apostolic Internuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

. In 1953, the Apostolic Internuncio moved to Taipei. In June 1959, the Republic of China Legation was upgraded to an Embassy, and the Minister Plenipotentiary became Ambassador. In August, ROC ambassador

John Ching Hsiung Wu John Ching Hsiung Wu (also John C. H. Wu; traditional Chinese: 吳經熊; pinyin: ''Wu Jingxiong''; March 28, 1899 – February 6, 1986) was a Chinese intellectual, jurist, and writer. He wrote works mainly in Chinese and English on jurisprudence ...

resigned as the ROC Ambassador to the Holy See. By that time, the ROC Foreign Ministry had already re-located to Taipei due to Nationalist losses in the Chinese Civil War. Wu requested that the ROC delay naming his replacement because of what he described as the delicate situation. When the United Nations removed the ROC and recognized the PRC as China, the Holy See downgraded its diplomatic status with the ROC. As the ROC has continued to lose diplomatic recognition over time since then, its embassy to the Holy See has increased in political significance from the ROC's perspective. It is the ROC's only embassy in Europe. In March 2005, the embassy was moved to Via della Conciliazione 4/D.Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Holy See

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

History

List of Envoys to the Holy See

List of Ambassadors to the Holy See

See also

References