The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) says that the presence of Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso in Taipei this week for the signing of the Taiwan-Panama free trade agreement proves that relations between the two countries are good.
"Ties between Taiwan and Panama are solid," MOFA spokesman Richard Shih (石瑞琦) said yesterday.
Shih had been asked whether an upcoming visit to China by Panamanian Vice President Arturo Vallarino signaled a possible change in relations.
Beijing said yesterday that it was doing its utmost to normalize relations with Panama -- one of only 27 countries in the world which recognize Taiwan -- and that the Central American nation's vice president would visit China this month.
"We believe if Panama can correctly handle the Taiwan problem, the normalization of ties between China and Panama can be realized," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.
Panama would have to break its formal ties with Taiwan before China would agree to diplomatic relations.
The Chinese foreign ministry said that Panamanian Vice President Arturo Vallarino would visit China from Aug. 30 to Sept. 7 at the invitation of a government-funded think-tank.
"More and more Panamanians have appealed for China and Panama to establish diplomatic relations," the statement said.
MOFA officials said Taiwan would keep a close eye on Vallarino's visit to China.
The number of countries recognizing Taiwan and not China has dwindled in the past decade. They now consist mostly of Third-World nations in Africa, Latin America and the Pacific.
In related news, Shih yesterday denied that MOFA had made political donations to Costa Rica.
Shih made the comments in response to La Nacion, a newspaper in San Jose, Costa Rica. The paper reported on Wednesday that Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco had been accused of receiving from Taiwan a mysterious political donation of US$500,000 during his 2002 election campaign.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
The money, Chien said, is used for infrastructure or other livelihood-related projects -- not political campaigns.
Shih dismissed any ties between the story and the recent resignation of Wang Fei (
"Wang resigned because of personal issues," Shih said. "His resignation had nothing to do with the report."
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost