Oct. 23 marks the 80th anniversary of diplomatic re-lations between the Holy See and the Republic of China, which exists today in Taiwan.
As surprising as it may seem to many, in Via della Conciliazione 4 in Rome there is the embassy of the Republic of China. Its red flag with a white sun amid a blue rectangle flutters from the balcony.
There is, therefore, a Chinese ambassador to the Holy See, Matthew S. M. Lee, and he comes from Taiwan.
The Embassy of the Re-public of China represents the island of Taiwan. Yet the Va-tican’s diplomatic recognition of China, which began in 1942, does not concern either the People’s Republic of China (which came into existence in 1949) nor, strictly speaking, is it an agreement with Taiwan. Taiwan as such does not exist as an independent legal entity. What we are commenting on here is precisely the relationship between the Holy See and the Republic of China, based in Taiwan.