We know that in mainland China, Catholics have been persecuted under communism for almost half a century. There are over 10 million Catholics in mainland China, and the Holy Father is worried that with the present confrontational situation across the Taiwan Strait, if he came to Taiwan this would give the PRC authorities an excuse to persecute Catholics on the mainland.
我們知道，在大陸，天主教徒受到共產主義的迫害已近半個世紀，在那邊有一千多萬教友，教宗擔心在目前兩岸仍處對立的情勢下，如果來台灣，恐怕會給對方迫害教友的藉口。