Taiwan yesterday severed diplomatic ties with Costa Rica, with whom it had maintained ties since 1944, after the Central American nation switched its allegiance to China.
Costa Rica's change of heart leaves Taiwan with 24 diplomatic allies.
"In order to protect Taiwan's dignity and interests, the Taiwanese government has decided to end diplomatic ties with Costa Rica," Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang said (黃志芳) at a morning news conference.
"All bilateral projects between Taiwan and Costa Rica will be terminated immediately," he said.
Huang said he had offered his resignation to President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen did not accept Huang's resignation, however, saying that it was not Huang's fault and that he had tried his best to protect the ties.
"It is not a very satisfactory outcome," Chen said in a statement issued by the Presidential Office yesterday.
"But I hope the public will continue to support and encourage the ministry, which has done its best," he said.
Huang told the conference that Costa Rica had been lying to Taiwan about its interactions with China by claiming Taiwan-Costa Rica ties remained firm.
"Since he became president in May 2006, President Oscar Arias has engaged in several rounds of secretive talks concerned with building formal ties with the PRC [People's Republic of China], disregarding the shared values and long friendship between our two countries," Huang said.
Huang said it was ironic that Arias, a winner of the Noble Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end the civil war, would turn to totalitarian China, which resorted to money and threats to lure Costa Rica.
After informing Taiwanese Ambassador to Costa Rica Wu Tzu-dan (
Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stango and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪) signed a communique establishing diplomatic relations on June 1, but Costa Rica did not inform Taiwan until early yesterday morning.
Huang accused China of squeezing Taiwan's international space and warned Beijing that its suppression would not deter Taiwanese from pursuing independence and defending the nation's sovereignty.
Huang said he did not think Costa Rica's break with Taiwan would trigger a "domino effect" among Taiwan's allies and added that he believed Costa Rica was an "isolated case."
He said he had ordered all embassies abroad to work hard to consolidate diplomatic ties.
As for the amount of financial aid that China promised Costa Rica, Huang only said that it was "an astronomical sum" and Taiwan was unable to compete.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Tzu-pao (
"We do not think it is right for people to give up friendship and universally-shared values because of intimidation and bribery," Yang told Chea, who refused to offer comment on his nation's move.
Costa Rica's move came less than a month after it surprised Taiwan by joining 147 other WHO members in voting "no" to Taiwan's bid for full membership under the name "Taiwan."
Five other Central American nations -- Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras -- still maintain ties with Taiwan.
El Salvadoran President Elias Antonio Saca recently said he intends to build relations with China but that he wants to maintain ties with Taiwan at the same time.
In response, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman David Wang (王建業) said yesterday that Taiwan respected its ally's decision but does not encourage allies to push "double recognition."
MOFA asked Taiwan's ambassador to El Salvador to investigate the situation, Wang said.
China yesterday welcomed Costa Rica's decision.
"This shows that the `one China' principle is already generally recognized by the international community," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Wu (姜瑜) said.
China hopes the remaining Latin American nations who support Taiwan will soon choose diplomatic relations with China, Jiang said.
Meanwhile, in Taipei, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Chiang (
The MOFA made a tactical mistake in applying for WHO membership under the name of Taiwan and this "unrealistic" move had forced the country's allies to take sides between Taiwan and China, he said.
Chiang said that he had warned of the consequences after the bid had failed, but MOFA, at that time, hailed the move as a success.
The incident might trigger a "domino effect" in Latin American countries as relationships with Panama and Nicaragua are not going well, Chiang said.
He demanded the MOFA tell the public how it plans to consolidate ties with the nation's allies instead of just blaming China.
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (
Expounding on the principle, Hu said that it meant "we don't stop our allies from making money, and try to persuade them to maintain ties with us."
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (
"China has resorted to every conceivable means to suppress Taiwan and insulted the country beyond its limits. The friendship between Taiwan and Costa Rica has lasted for more than 60 years," Hsiao told a press conference.
Hsiao said that the incident was a big setback for the country but believed Huang was not at fault.
Responding to Chiang's criticism, Hsiao said that she felt sad that the KMT didn't have a bad word to say about China.
"Even a five-year-old child knows that China is to blame. I really want to ask the KMT why it hates seeing the name Taiwan used internationally," she said.
Commenting on the break, the president said that in addition to the intensifying military threat, Beijing has attempted to eliminate Taiwan's existence in the international community by its "three guang" (
China's suppression has nothing to do with who is in power, Chen said, and it will carry on after next year's presidential election.
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said that the breaking off of relations with Costa Rica was not unexpected and that China was responsible.
Lu insinuated that KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
"One of the candidates keeps talking about consulting Beijing. How can such a person lead our country?" she said. "He firmly believes that Taiwan's future and destiny are in Beijing's hands."
Ma yesterday condemned China's oppression of Taiwan's international relations, but also criticized the government for pushing Taiwan into a dangerous corner by adopting a strategy of brinkmanship.
In related news, two of Taiwan's allies in Central America, Guatemala and El Salvadore, have announced that they will maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
The two countries made their announcements after Costa Rica's switch of recognition to China.
According to Spanish-language news reports by the Associated Press, Salvadoran President Antonio Saca said at a news conference on Wednesday that his nation would like to develop relations with China, but only on the condition that China not ask his country to cut its ties with Taiwan.
Guatemalan Presidential Office Spokeswoman Crista Kepfer told a Spanish-language news agency that Guatemala would maintain its diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Additional reporting by AFP and CNA
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