Taiwan's gift for new pontiff

By Hu Young-sup

An unexpected controversy occurred in Taiwan recently over whether a gift prepared by the Taiwanese Presidential Office for the newly inaugurated Pontiff was appropriate.

The debate showed how wide the cultural difference is between Taiwan and the Vatican, or rather between the East and West.

The gift in question was a beautiful, red-colored vase embossed with a magpie design. Republic of China President Ma Ying-jeou, accompanied by first lady Chow Mei-ching, was supposed to present it to Pope Francis, the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, during his inaugural mass in St. Peter’s Square, Rome.

As we all know, a magpie is a black-and-white bird with a long tail. It is known to be more intelligent than most other birds. The Taiwanese government might have wanted to express its joy and blessing because magpies are considered to be symbols of good luck, according to the island nation’s folklore tradition.

In many other oriental countries, too, magpies are generally regarded as a blessing, including Korea. For instance, older Koreans even nowadays anticipate that a pleasant guest will visit their home when they hear magpies chirping in the early morning.

Taipei’s gift for the new Pope was very important not only because the Vatican is its only diplomatic partner in Europe but because it was the first time for Ma to officially visit Europe since he took office in 2008. When Pope John Paul II passed away in 2005, then President Chen Shui-bian also visited the Holy See.

Even though the two countries, a city state and an island nation, have maintained diplomatic ties since 1942, bilateral exchanges had been relatively limited. This was because mainland China has paid keen attention to what the Taiwanese government is doing on the world stage. Ma's administration has also been especially careful not to hurt cross-strait relations and their increasingly amicable, cooperative ties.

So the Taiwanese government wanted to take full advantage of this rare occasion to conduct diplomacy to enhance its substantive relationship with other European nations. It was a good opportunity because many political leaders from other countries were expected to participate in the inauguration mass. Hence, gift was important as a key for opening doors of diplomacy in Europe via the Vatican.

But criticism was voiced among Taiwanese people themselves that the choice of a magpie design was nonsense. Contrary to their culture, magpies are generally viewed as a bad omen in Occidental countries, the critics said. They lashed out at the Presidential Office for failing to show common sense with respect to the selection of the gift.

As it turned out, however, Taipei had decided on the magpie vase through prior consultation with the Vatican. Critics still said, however, it would have been prudent for the Taiwanese delegation to have prepared some other items as backup options. Fortunately, it was later learned the Vatican had said it would respect any choice and be satisfied with it.

After all, following some earlier complications the bilateral friendship has come to a turning point in its 71-year-old diplomatic relationship with the Taiwanese president's attendance at the papal investiture. Ma congratulated Pope Francis on his inauguration to the papacy and conveyed his people’s heartfelt gratitude along with best wishes to the Holy See.

The brief dispute over the appropriateness of the gift has only worked to deepen the friendship between the two longtime friends, reflecting the giver’s deep consideration of the receiver. Once again, magpies have proved they are birds of good luck, transcending differences of culture.

The writer is a freelance columnist. As a member of the Seoul-Taipei Forum, he wrote a book titled "Taiwan, Where Is It?" His email address is gracias1234@naver.com.