All four candidates vying for the presidency of Palau are friendly to Taiwan, which bodes well for future ties with the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
Palau, one of the nation’s 23 allies, was holding the first of two rounds of voting yesterday for its future president, an election that the Foreign Ministry is following closely, said Frances Lee (李宗芬), the deputy director-general of the Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
The final runoffs for the presidency and parliamentary seats are slated for Nov. 4.
Lee said, however, that the election was not likely to have an impact on diplomatic relations between the two countries, as all four presidential candidates are friendly to Taiwan.
They are Palauan Vice President Elias Camsek Chin, Senate President Surangel Whipps, former Palau ambassador to Taiwan Johnson Toribiong and Senator Joshua Koshiba.
Lee said Chin has long been a friend of Taiwan, citing a recent incident in which he offered the government considerable help.
Chin assisted Taiwan in locating a missing fishing boat last month after Taiwan asked the Palauan government to intercept the boat, which was suspected of having been hijacked by its crew.
Whipps, who attended President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration on May 20, is also friendly to Taiwan, Lee said.
He added that as a former ambassador, Toribiong was very familiar with the nation’s affairs.
Palauans were to go to the polls yesterday in a primary election to narrow the candidates from four to two.
The two winning candidates will compete for the presidency in the November runoff.
Taiwan and Palau established diplomatic relations in 1999.
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