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Caribbean ally supports Taiwan’s UN bid: envoy

The Dominican Republic has always and will continue to support Taiwan’s bid to join the UN as well as membership in other international organizations, the Caribbean country’s top envoy said yesterday.

Dominican Republic Ambassador Victor Sanchez made the statement amid reports that it was not one of 17 diplomatic allies who co-sponsored Taiwan’s UN bid this year. Other allies who did not sign up in support of the bid are Paraguay, Panama, Guatemala, Haiti and the Vatican

“We give 100 percent of our strong support to Taiwan to join the UN and all other international organizations,” Sanchez said in an interview with the Taipei Times.

The ambassador said that Taiwan and the Dominican Republic had maintained a solid friendship for more than six decades and the alliance was expected to continue.

“We have never had the intention to [switch recognition] to mainland China,” Sanchez said, repeating it twice.

The Dominican Republic did not publicly support Taiwan’s UN membership in the past because of its own bid to become a member of the UN Security Council.

To date, Santo Domingo has not expressed its official position on Taiwan’s bid this year, which instead of applying for membership, is asking for “meaningful participation” in activities sponsored by the global body’s special agencies.

Diego Chou (周麟), deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MOFA) Department of Central and South American Affairs, expressed regret that the nation’s allies such as Panama, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, were unable to publicly support Taiwan’s UN endeavor but added that the administration understood its allies situation.

Chou said Santo Domingo had declined to support Taiwan because it was contemplating making another bid to join the UN Security Council in which China holds one of the decisive votes.

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo last Sunday announced that the government would no longer back Taiwan’s UN bid because it wanted to forge closer working relations with Beijing.

The Paraguayan embassy in Taiwan, however, has asserted that Taiwan-Paraguay ties remain stable despite its non-supportive stance.
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