Ex-Vice President Chen greets Biden, Japan's top diplomat at pope funeral

Vatican City, April 26 (CNA) Former Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), acting as an envoy for President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), attended Pope Francis' funeral in Vatican City on Saturday where he greeted former U.S. President Joe Biden and other foreign guests.

Chen joined other world leaders and dignitaries in attending the funeral on Saturday morning, and before he took his seat, greeted separately Biden, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi, and Speaker of the Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies Raúl Luis Latorre Martínez.

Speaking with CNA a day earlier, Chen said he would do his best to engage with international leaders, despite noting that as a guest, he would respect the arrangements made by the Vatican.

While not specifying whom he hoped to meet, Chen said Taiwan has maintained good relations with many like-minded countries and he would "seize the opportunity to have some conversations."

Pope Francis' funeral took place in the square in front of St Peter's Basilica, where an estimated 250,000 people visited over the past three days to pay their respects for the late pope who died on April 21.

Some 170 heads of government or their representatives took part in the event, including U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and their Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Vatican is one of 12 states in the world to have formal diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name), and past presidents have taken part in key papal events.

Former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), for example, attended the papal inauguration of Pope Francis in 2013, and Ma's predecessor Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said the appointment of Chen, who served as vice president from 2016-2020 under former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), was the result of discussions between Taipei and the Holy See.