Chinese offers of money for infrastructure projects and the wish to divert the Panamanian public’s attention from domestic affairs were the main reasons for the nation’s abrupt decision to switch recognition from the Republic of China (ROC) to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), sources said.
Taiwan on Tuesday cut diplomatic ties with Panama after the Central American country switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing earlier on the same day.
The large amount of Chinese investment on the table played a significant role in Panama’s decision, a source said, adding that Juan Carlos Varela — a businessman before entering politics — places heavy emphasis on commerce and profits.
Photo: AFP
Over the past three years, China has invested US$25 billion into various public infrastructure projects in the nation, and in just the past three months has offered loans worth more than US$8 billion, the source said.
In comparison, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only has an annual budget of NT$24 billion (US$789.97 million), the source said, adding that while the ministry had offered to step up cooperation in education and medical facilities, the scale of the projects were incomparable with China’s.
The Panamanian government had not asked Taiwan to increase the scale of its aid over the past two years, a source said.
Panama switched recognition despite repeatedly assuring Taiwan that there were no such plans, sources said.
Taiwan reportedly received information that Panama was “engaged in political talks with China,” but the Taiwanese embassy in Panama later assessed that the nation was, at that time, in the early stages of its negotiations with China, the sources said.
Taiwanese in Panama informed the Taiwanese embassy 48 hours before the Panamanian government’s official announcement that Panama was preparing an important media announcement and that it might be about switching recognition to Beijing.
Despite the Taiwanese embassy repeatedly urging the Panamanian government to confirm the allegation, the Panamanian government at the time staunchly denied it was planning to do so, the sources said.
Panamanian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Miguel Hincapie at the time told the embassy “he was not aware of such announcements,” the source said.
However, Hincapie was one of only four people in the whole of Panama to know about the planned switch, the sources said, adding that the other three were Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, Panamanian Vice President Isabel Saint Malo and an unidentified administrative staff member.
The embassy, after receiving official notice from the Panamanian government of its intention to switch recognition only 40 minutes before the announcement, asked the president of the Panamenista Party, Jose Luis Varela — Juan Carlos Varela’s brother — to telephone the president to try and persuade the him to change his mind, the source said.
Ten minutes before the Panamanian government’s official announcement, Jose Varela called back to say that there was no way to do so, the source said.
The source surmised that Juan Carlos Varela was seeking to deflect attention from domestic politics due to recent policy flops, which have reportedly seen his approval ratings plunge.
There are up to 300,000 ethnic Chinese in Panama, comprising of 8 percent of President Varela’s voting base, the source said.
There are only about 300 Taiwanese businessmen and embassy staff in Panama, the source said.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
RSS