Pope Francis’ inauguration on Tuesday has given Taiwan’s president an unprecedented opportunity to visit Europe in his capacity as head of state, prompting a call from Beijing for the Vatican to cut diplomatic ties with Taipei.

　　教皇方济各(Pope Francis)本周二举行就职典礼，这给予了台湾总统以元首身份访问欧洲的一个空前机遇，促使北京方面呼吁梵蒂冈中断与台北方面的外交关系。

　　Many in China are waiting to see whether the new Pope tries to restart an informal dialogue with Beijing that started and then stalled under his predecessor. But a government spokesman said the country stood by its position that the Vatican should first cut its ties with Taipei and not interfere with the Chinese Catholic Church, a government-run body which says it has the right to ordain bishops in China.

　　中国许多人都在观望，想知道新教皇会否试图重启梵中双方的非正式对话――前任教皇曾与中国展开非正式对话，但后来对话陷入停滞。但中国政府的一位发言人表示，中国坚持自己的立场，即梵蒂冈先与台湾断绝关系，并且不得干预中国的天主教会。中国天主教会是一家自称有权任命境内主教的官方教会。

　　“We hope the Vatican will take concrete measures to gradually remove obstacles and create conditions for the improvement of Sino-Vatican relations,” a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said.

　　中国外交部发言人表示：“我们希望梵方采取灵活务实的态度，以实际行动为改善中梵关系创造条件。”

　　An influential Chinese Buddhist leader also chimed in, describing the abdication of Pope Benedict XVI as evidence of a crisis of faith in western society .

　　一位颇具影响力的中国佛教领导人也对此表示赞同，他认为教皇本笃十六世(Pope Benedict XVI)的退位表明西方社会发生了信仰危机。

　　“Even the Pope can’t carry out his duties any more. If religious faith was in good shape this situation would be impossible,” said Shi Yongxin, abbot of the Shaolin Temple, the historic birthplace of Zen Buddhism. “The west’s religious problems are more serious than China’s .

　　少林寺方丈释永信表示：“连教皇都做不下去了。如果是在信仰好的情况下，不可能存在这样的问题。西方宗教问题比中国严重。”少林寺是具有历史意义的禅宗诞生地。

　　While there are an estimated 12m Catholics in China against fewer than half a million in Taiwan, the Vatican does not have formal relations with Beijing, which has been cracking down on unlicensed churchs and clergy who disagree with the government-backed church.

　　尽管在中国大陆估计有1200万天主教徒，而台湾天主教徒还不到50万，但梵蒂冈没有与中国正式建交。中国一直在打击未获得官方许可的教会和牧师，后者与政府支持的教会意见不一。

　　Instead, the Holy See recognises the Taiwan leadership ? the only European state and one of only 23 globally to do so.

　　相反，梵蒂冈承认台湾。欧洲只有一个国家、全球只有23个国家承认台湾。

　　In the past few decades, most nations have dropped their recognition of Taiwan, known formally as the Republic of China, in favour of ties with Beijing. As Beijing claims Taiwan as a part of its territory, countries cannot maintain diplomatic ties with both, and Beijing frequently protests when countries issue visas to Taiwanese leaders.

　　在过去几十年里，大多数国家与官方名称是中华民国的台湾断交，转而与中华人民共和国建交。由于北京方面宣称，台湾是中国领土的一部分，各国不可能同时与台海两岸都保持外交关系。当其他国家为台湾领导人发放签证时，北京方面经常会提出抗议。

　　The trip will be President Ma Ying-jeou’s first to Europe since his election in 2008. He touched down in Rome on Sunday evening with plans to attend the inaugural mass and visit Taiwan’s representative office in Italy.

　　此次出行是台湾总统马英九自2008年当选以来首次来到欧洲。他于上周六晚乘机抵达罗马，计划出席教皇的就职典礼，并视察台湾驻意大利代表处

　　For Taiwanese, the inauguration is an opportunity to see Taiwan acknowledged on the world stage, said Alexander Huang, a security expert at Taiwan’s Tamkang University. While a small number of Taiwanese are Catholic, many more follow other faiths, he pointed out.

　　台湾淡江大学(Tamkang University)安全问题专家黄介正(Alexander Huang)表示，对台湾人来说，此次新教皇就职典礼是证明台湾在世界舞台上得到认知的一个机遇。他指出，尽管只有少量台湾人是天主教徒，但更多人信仰其他宗教。