Panama's foreign minister Jose Miguel Aleman arrives in Taiwan today for a six-day visit.
His visit comes in the midst of Taiwan's cabinet reshuffle, where foreign minister designate Chen Chien-jen (程建?H) is scheduled to formally take over for Jason Hu (-J志強), the outgoing foreign minister and KMT campaign manager, next Tuesday.
Chen, who is fluent in Spanish, is to meet with Aleman during his stay here.
Aleman's trip follows Hu's visit to Panama last month, where he said high-level Panamanian officials assured him that ties with Taiwan remain firm.
A series of visits by Panamanian officials to China in recent months have fueled speculation that Panama is considering switching diplomatic recognition to Beijing.
China had previously stated that it planned to filch two of Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the Central America region before Oct. 1 this year -- the 50th anniversary of Communist Party rule in China.
With almost half of its 29 formal allies in Central America and the Caribbean, the region is an important diplomatic foothold for Taiwan.
For years, it has been the arena for a continual diplomatic tug-of-war between Taiwan and China.
Panama seems to have tipped the diplomatic balance by inviting Taiwan's ambassador to Panama, Lan Chih-ming (藍智民), to the handover of the Panama Canal next month while leaving China's unofficial trade representative in Panama in the cold.
Leaders from member countries of the Organization of American States, along with delegations from Japan, France, Egypt and Spain, will also attend.
However, Taiwan is concerned that China will gain preponderant influence over Panama through the chairman of Hutchison Whampoa, Li Ka-shing (李1顫?.
Li's Hong Kong-based conglomerate will take control of the waterway, paying the Panamanian government US$22.2 million per year for the next 20 years.
Taiwan and the US have become increasingly concerned that China could gain control of the strategically important canal, as Li is known to maintain close ties with Beijing leaders.
However, Taiwan too has commercial weight in Panama, with Taiwan's Evergreen Group having strong business interests operating warehouses and ports on the canal.
The group recently invested US$100 million in a harbor construction project and, along with a nearly completed housing project, is also planning to venture into the restaurant business there.
Chang Yung-fa (張榮發), the company's founder, has close ties with Panama president Mireya Moscoso and has been invited to attend the canal handover on Dec. 14, reported the Central News Agency yesterday.
Aleman will meet with Chang, along with president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), economic minister Wang Chih-kang (
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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