Huang said that a meeting on this issue was held last Tuesday in Taipei and that some businessmen investing in Nicaragua and the Nicaraguan ambassador to Taiwan had attended. With Nien Hsing's report in hand, Huang emphasized Nien Hsing's contribution to generating US$150 million a year for Taiwan and employing 10,500 Nicaraguan workers.
"Nien Hsing's statement at the meeting was very different from your analysis," Huang said, suggesting the activists engage in direct talks with Nien Hsing to further their understanding.
But activists questioned the foreign ministry's acceptance of Nien Hsing's statement and what they said was the ministry's ignorance of international pressure over this issue. They showed ministry officials a pile of copied documents about US action on the issue and a press cutting about Chentex published in the British financial daily, the Financial Times, three days ago.
They also expressed doubts over Nien Hsing's attitude toward talking with activists. Activists protested to Nien Hsing in Taipei earlier in November and 15 of them shortly afterwards received a letter issued by Nien Hsing's counsel on Nov. 13 accusing them of breaking the law.
"We hope the ministry can send officials to Nicaragua to investigate the whole issue instead of listening to Nien Hsing's explanation alone," said Chen Hsin-hsing (陳信行), an activist who is also a sociology professor at Shih-Hsin University.
With New Party Legislator Cheng Long-shui (
RSS