Taiwan yesterday again denied charges that it was involved in buying influence in the disputed election which sparked riots in the Solomon Islands this week.
The announcement on Tuesday that former Solomon Islands deputy prime minister Snyder Rini had been elected prime minister led to the burning and looting of Chinese homes and businesses by mobs who rampaged through the capital Honiara.
"We would like to categorically deny that we provide any money to any political leaders in that country," said Gary Lin (林松煥), head of the economic and cultural development office that represents Taiwan in the Australian capital, Canberra.
PHOTO: AP
He was responding to comments made by Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who linked the riots to the ongoing power struggle between Taiwan and China for diplomatic influence across the Pacific.
"Some people have decided to take to the streets, particularly focusing on the Chinese community, because they believe that Snyder Rini has been supported by the Chinese," Downer said.
"Not just ethnic Chinese on the Solomon Islands but by the Taiwanese as well -- the Solomon Islands having diplomatic relations with Taiwan," he said.
"I have noted some of the allegations but I must point out that Taiwan is not involved in any way in the election of the prime minister of the Solomon Islands," Lin said in a statement.
"The instability of the Solomon Islands is deep-rooted. It is not Taiwan's fault," he said.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Wednesday night obliquely blamed Taiwan for the checkbook politics that protesters say skewed the vote Rini's way.
"We should remember that there are countries other than countries that are geographically part of the region which have an interest in involving themselves and gathering allies and partners in the region, not necessarily with the longer-term interests of the region at heart," Howard said.
The sentiment from Canberra appeared to be non-partisan, with the opposition Labor Party adding to accusations that Taipei was manipulating the politics of its South Pacific ally.
"I think one of the concerns is Taiwanese aid directly to the Solomon Islands government. And of course, unlike Australia, the Solomon Islands has diplomatic relations with Taipei rather than with Beijing," said Bob Sercombe, opposition Labor Party spokesman for Pacific Island Affairs, as quoted on the Australian Broadcasting Corp's radio program The World Today yesterday.
"I think the area that's of more concern is probably not any direct support to the Solomon Islands government, it is concerns about claims that the Taiwanese make payments directly to individual members of parliament for use as some sort of election slush fund and concerns about the accountabilities for those funds and whether there are any strings attached," he said.
Sercombe did not return a call by the Taipei Times to his office on the basis for his allegations.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) repeated yesterday that Taiwan was not involved in unrest surrounding the Solomon Islands' elections, and "we will find out why Taiwan is rumored to have been involved."
Lu said there are only two Taiwanese shops in the Solomon Islands, one is a restaurant and the other a vehicle repair shop.
"Neither shop is located in Chinatown and neither was affected by the wave of riots that targeted the local Chinese. This fact should tell people whether Taiwan is involved or not," Lu told the Taipei Times yesterday.
Responding to Howard's accusation, Lu said that Taiwan's aid to the Solomon Islands is for projects aimed at improving local living standards in a sustainable way.
"Australia and New Zealand are important regional partners in the Oceania area. Taiwan's aid to the Solomon Islands is actually helping to share the international burden [for these developing countries]," Lu said.
Additional reporting by Chang Yun-ping
Also see story:
Solomons claims riots were `planned'
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
RSS