Orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See of the Catholic Church by his authority as head of the Holy See and sovereign of the Vatican City State. Historically, membership in these orders was either conferred by Papal bulls not signed by the Pope or by apostolic letters signed by the Pope himself. Since the reforms of these orders in the beginning of the 20th century, the diplomas have been signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State. In general, "Papal orders of knighthood" refers to the five equestrian orders of the Holy See awarded directly by the Supreme Pontiff as head of the Catholic Church, Holy See and
Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See The Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See () is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of China accredited to the Holy See, one of its few "de jure" embassies in the world, and the only one remaining in Europe. It also has responsibility for relations with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Its counterpart in the Republic of China is the Apostolic Nunciature to China in Taipei. It is separate from the Taipei Representative Office in Italy in Rome, which functions as a "de facto" embassy