Taiwan's new envoy to the US has accused China of using hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to lure a key ally, a report said yesterday.
Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) argued that Beijing was attempting to isolate Taiwan on the diplomatic scene, the Chinese-language daily China Times said in a dispatch from Washington.
To achieve that goal, "Beijing pledged US$600 million in aid to Senegal" when they set up diplomatic ties in October 2005, said Wu, who served as the head of the Mainland Affairs Council before he was named representative to the US last month.
In another case, China pledged US$250 million in assistance to Grenada, prompting the Caribbean country to sever diplomatic relations with Taipei in January 2005, Wu said.
The accusation came a week after Taiwan scored a diplomatic victory when St Lucia, an eastern Caribbean country with a population of about 170,000, switched its diplomatic allegiance from Beijing to Taipei.
Taiwan and China have often accused each other in the past of using money to lure their respective allies.
Wu, however, denied the allegation, saying that "checkbook diplomacy" was unlikely in a democratic country like Taiwan, where any foreign aid project must be approved by the legislature and is constantly monitored by the media.
Taiwan could not possibly hope to compete with Beijing's deep pockets in the field of diplomacy, Wu said, referring to China's growing economic clout.
Including St Lucia, 25 countries recognize Taiwan.
Latin America, the South Pacific and Africa are the main diplomatic battlegrounds for Taiwan and China.
Taiwan suffered a diplomatic setback when Chad switched recognition to Beijing last year.
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