Cardinal Jan Schotte, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, and the greatest expert in Chinese culture among the Cardinals of the Roman Curia, will visit Taiwan from Jan. 24-29, and meet with the country´s highest authorities, according to the Vatican missionary agency Fides.
Cardinal Schotte will address a symposium, being held in Wen Tsao College of Kao-hsiung, on the new evangelization.
The cardinal studied Chinese in his youth, in order to go to the country as a missionary. On this visit, he will meet with representatives of the local Church, and with the president, prime minister, and foreign minister of Taiwan.
The Vatican maintains formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, a fact that has been criticized by the Beijing Communist government over the past year.
On July 14, a few months after his election, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian officially invited John Paul II to visit the island.
