While Taipei has maintained formal diplomatic ties with 23 allies following President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) declaration of a “diplomatic truce” with China, academics and officials say that relations with Nicaragua, Paraguay, Dominica, Panama, Haiti and Honduras have been on shaky ground, cables released by WikiLeaks on Aug. 30 showed.
A cable dated June 2, 2008, issued by the US consulate in Shanghai, quoted Yang Jiemian (楊潔勉), then-president of the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, and its vice president Chen -Dongxiao (陳東曉) as saying that Nicaragua intended to recognize China, but Beijing decided not act on the requests.
The cable said the Chinese academics viewed Beijing’s refusal to accept Nicaragua as an act of “good will” toward Taiwan and that China was awaiting “gestures from Taiwan in the next two months or so.”
“China decided not to implement that offered change, at least for now, to see whether an understanding can be reached that would allow a cessation to the war between Taipei and Beijing for diplomatic recognition,” the cable reads.
Another cable dated March 20, 2009, quoted then-foreign minister Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) as telling American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Bughardt that China has refused to accept requests from Paraguay, the Dominican Republic and Panama to switch diplomatic ties.
“Beijing had tacitly accepted Taiwan’s diplomatic truce,” Ou was quoted as saying in the cable.
Ou said he had issued no instructions on the subject as Taipei was still “observing … [but] personally, I hope our diplomats would interpret the ceasefire in a broader way,” the cable said.
Kung Kuo-wei (宮國威), an associate professor at Tamkang University, told the AIT that Paraguay, Panama, Haiti and Honduras had a strong interest in strengthening ties with China and were keen on switching their diplomatic recognition, according to a cable originating from the AIT on Oct. 3, 2008.
Separately, a cable from the US embassy in Beijing on Jan. 16, 2009, quoted Renmin University professor Jin Canrong (金燦榮) as saying that five unnamed countries with diplomatic relations with Taiwan were willing to switch their recognition to China
As for the South Pacific region, a cable dated Sept. 25, 2008, from the AIT showed that six of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu — were uneasy about their ties with Taiwan following the “diplomatic truce” policy.
The cable quoted Victor Yu (于德勝), then-director general for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of East Asian Affairs, as saying that this unease had prompted Taiwan to reassure its Pacific island diplomatic partners that its engagement with China would not change its policy in the region and that it would continue, and probably even increase, development cooperation.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
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