The Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied yesterday media reports quoting Paraguay’s vice president-elect that Taiwan had pledged a massive donation to its incoming government to help landless farmers in the country.
Paraguayan vice-president-elect Federico Franco said on Asuncion-based Radio Cardinal on Friday that the Republic of China (ROC) embassy officials had promised a US$71 million donation upon the new government’s inauguration.
“I’ve met with authorities at the Taiwanese embassy and they confirmed to me that they will donate US$71 million to the country when the [Fernando] Lugo government assumes office on Aug. 15,” Franco was quoted as saying by the Buenos Aires-based news agency Impulso Baires.
The money will be used to settle landless peasants in the country, the report said.
Lugo, a former leftist Catholic bishop, won the presidential vote last month and will be sworn in on Aug. 15 for a five-year term.
During his presidential campaign, Lugo estimated that about 300,000 peasant families were without farmland and promised to resolve the problem, the report said.
The situation has grown into a crisis as thousands of landless farmers began to occupy private lands owned by Brazilian soy growers, the Central News Agency reported.
In Taipei, ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) denied the reports.
“The incoming Lugo government has expressed its wish [for the donation], but we haven’t discussed any details yet,” Yeh told the Taipei Times by telephone.
“Taiwan has always had projects with Paraguay. Those projects with the current government are going quite well,” she said. “The amount of aid to Paraguay is decided by the content and schedule of the projects.”
Yeh said it was still too early to discuss future aid projects with the incoming government, as it wouldn’t come into power until August.
Paraguay, which has maintained diplomatic ties with Taiwan since 1957, is one of only 23 countries that recognize Taiwan and is Taiwan’s only ally in South America.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is scheduled to visit Latin American and Caribbean allies, including Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, in the fall, Chinese-language newspapers have reported.
Additional reporting by DPA
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a