Amid ongoing concerns over the shaky relationship with Saint Lucia, the government will look at the suitability of maintaining its embattled ambassador to the Caribbean country in his post, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
Wu Chin-mu (吳進木), -director-general of the ministry’s Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, said the ministry was “receptive” to whatever views a host government has about Taiwanese representatives to that country.
His comments were a departure from the ministry’s previous stance on friction between Ambassador Tom Chou (周台竹) and the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP), which regained power in November.
“We evaluate the suitability of ambassadors and officers stationed overseas regularly and alter their positions in a rotating system, based on length of service and eligibility. Personnel replacements will be made when necessary,” Wu said in response to media inquiries at a regular press briefing.
As to whether the ministry is considering replacing Chou, Wu said the ministry would look into the matter. The SLP has made many complaints against Chou over the years because of alleged interference in the country’s electoral process in favor of the United Workers Party (UWP).
After SLP leader Kenny Anthony was sworn in as prime minister early last month, the ministry said the SLP government had given its assurances that it would continue to maintain relations with Taiwan, as Chou and Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) held talks with Anthony on bilateral cooperation projects.
However, media in St Lucia continued to cast doubts on the relationship between the two countries. The latest report on Sunday quoted Saint Lucia Foreign Minister Alva Baptiste as saying that “within the next few weeks the new St Lucia government will make a definite decision as to whether it wants to maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.”
Baptiste made the remarks after talks with Yang, who last week spent four days in the country, the second leg of his journey to attend swearing-in ceremonies for Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega yesterday, Guatemalan President Otto Perez on Jan. 14 and Gambian President Yahya J.J. Jammeh on Jan. 19.
“We have articulated our concerns to the Taiwanese foreign minister about the [behavior] of his ambassador during the tenure of the UWP administration, and indicated in no uncertain terms that Mr Chou was too deeply involved in the country’s political affairs,” Baptiste was quoted by local media as saying.
At the press briefing yesterday, Wu said the country’s relationships with Saint Lucia “remain strong.”
“After the election [in November], Anthony had publicly announced that he would maintain relations with Taiwan,” Wu said.
Following Yang’s visit, the relationship between Taiwan and Saint Lucia will continue its steady and fruitful development, Wu said.
Yang twice had cordial meetings with Anthony and had discussions with Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy, Saint Lucia’s head of state, as well as ministers in charge of foreign affairs, commerce, tourism, agriculture, education and technology, establishing friendship with the SLP administration, Wu said.
Wu said that diplomatic relations with the 12 countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean that recognize the Republic of China (ROC) are “very stable,” dismissing speculation that some countries may switch ties to China after the elections on Saturday.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday said that a delegation that visited China for an APEC meeting did not receive any kind of treatment that downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty. Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) said that he and a group of ministry officials visited Shenzhen, China, to attend the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting last month. The trip went “smoothly and safely” for all Taiwanese delegates, as the Chinese side arranged the trip in accordance with long-standing practices, Sun said at the ministry’s weekly briefing. The Taiwanese group did not encounter any political suppression, he said. Sun made the remarks when
PREPAREDNESS: Given the difficulty of importing ammunition during wartime, the Ministry of National Defense said it would prioritize ‘coproduction’ partnerships A newly formed unit of the Marine Corps tasked with land-based security operations has recently replaced its aging, domestically produced rifles with more advanced, US-made M4A1 rifles, a source said yesterday. The unnamed source familiar with the matter said the First Security Battalion of the Marine Corps’ Air Defense and Base Guard Group has replaced its older T65K2 rifles, which have been in service since the late 1980s, with the newly received M4A1s. The source did not say exactly when the upgrade took place or how many M4A1s were issued to the battalion. The confirmation came after Chinese-language media reported
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
BROAD AGREEMENT: The two are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff to 15% and a commitment for TSMC to build five more fabs, a ‘New York Times’ report said Taiwan and the US have reached a broad consensus on a trade deal, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said yesterday, after a report said that Washington is set to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent. The New York Times on Monday reported that the two nations are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent and commit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to building at least five more facilities in the US. “The agreement, which has been under negotiation for months, is being legally scrubbed and could be announced this month,” the paper said,
RSS