St. Kitts and Nevis will not be following the lead of several Caribbean neighbors who have established ties with China, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas indicated on Tuesday when he accepted a US$1.5 million grant from Taiwan to build a cricket stadium.
Douglas praised relations with Taipei as "long and productive" as he toured the stadium's construction site with Taiwan Foreign Minister Mark Chen (
"The friendship between our people provides a special basis for our own continued and mutually beneficial relationship," the Caribbean leader said.
Chen's visit comes four months after Grenada severed decades-long ties with Taiwan to recognize China, leaving Taiwan with only four allies in the Caribbean.
The other three allies are Haiti, the Dominican Republic and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Chen was to head to St. Vincent later on Tuesday for a three-day visit.
Beijing and Taipei have used dollar diplomacy for decades to win over small Caribbean nations.
In March, China signed agreements to help build new stadiums in Grenada and Dominica, which cut ties with Taiwan last year.
Chen presented Douglas with the third installment of a US$12 million grant to build a stadium in time for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, which will be hosted throughout the Caribbean.
St. Kitts and Taiwan have had relations for 11 years, and Taiwan provides the Caribbean country with US$200,000 annually for medical equipment and scholarships.
Douglas asked for Taiwan's help in diversifying his country's agricultural sector after it stops producing sugar. St. Kitts decided in March to shut down its debt-ridden sugar industry after 300 years of production amid challenges at the WTO to preferential prices from EU countries.
Taiwan could help "take agriculture in this country to a higher level," Douglas told Chen.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all