Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Hou (侯清山) is to lead a diplomatic team to Nicaragua in the near future to consolidate Taiwan's diplomatic ties with the country, another vice minister said yesterday.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Tzu-pao (
In a question-and-answer session held yesterday afternoon, several legislators expressed concerns about the possibility of Nicaragua's president-elect Daniel Ortega switching diplomatic ties to China.
The ministry had previously expressed concern that Nicaragua would break off diplomatic relations with Taiwan and set up ties with China if the Sandinistas were elected.
Questions
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (
However, the Sandinista government-elect in Nicaragua said on Sunday that it would maintain its diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Vice president-elect Jaime Morales Carazo told Nicaraguan radio station KW Continente that meetings with investors and Taipei's delegates have been held, and he stressed the two countries' mutual interest in further cooperation.
"We have been clear and categorical: we told our brothers in Taiwan they have been very generous and supportive to our country in many aspects," Morales Carazo said.
Future relations
He said that the future of Nicaraguan relations with China would depend on decisions made by the Beijing and Taipei governments in solving their differences.
Meanwhile, Yang said that Taiwan faced "substantial pressure" from Nicaragua's new political situation but added that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) talked to Ortega on the phone last Friday and both had a good understanding of each other.
Yang stressed that the team to be led by Hou will not be on a special mission but a regular team that the ministry sends to any of Taiwan's allies that is changing government.
"The diplomatic team will talk about President Ortega's plans for Nicaragua and see how Taiwan can help them and adjust existing cooperation plans if required," Yang said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS