With the arrival of President Chen Shui-bian (
The largest circulated paper La Prensa splashed "Diplomacia del Dolar" across its front page, with an article criticizing Taiwan's aid as enriching the personal pockets of Nicaraguan officials.
The leftist El Nuevo Diario's front page headline "Taiwan is turning Nicaragua into a satellite state," criticized the alleged labor abuses by Taiwanese companies in Managua.
Taiwan's ambassador in Nicaragua, Antonio Tsai (蔡德三), who frankly suggested that the new government should halt financial assistance to the country, said despite the 20,000 job opportunities provided by Taiwanese businesses there, the companies usually receive negative press coverage.
He cited the strong hold of labor unions and the "unprofessionalism" of the media as the main reasons.
The local media criticized relations between Taiwan and Nicaragua as merely "dollar diplomacy," although some Nicaraguan journalists said recent reports of the country's foreign minister allegedly reminding Chen not to forget the US$100 million in loans promised by the KMT government was "sensationalized by wire services."
Tsai also clarified in a briefing open to the Taiwan press that Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Eduardo Montealegre's comments were not meant as a "threat" to Taiwan.
Citing the US, Canada and Japan's decision to partially withhold aid to Nicaragua due to government corruption, Tsai said Nicaragua's dire financial situation was the reason for the foreign minister's comments.
Montealegre is scheduled to have a breakfast meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) this morning to clarify the apparent diplomatic blunder. In a letter last week, the Nicaraguan foreign minister denied he had made such a comment and told reporters on Thursday that "relations between Nicaragua and Taiwan are much broader than just financial aid," adding that the ties are more like a brotherhood.
In a meeting between the two heads of state on Thursday, Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman repeatedly thanked Taiwan for its financial assistance and pledged to support Taiwan's participation in international organizations.
Aleman also apologized for the negative media reports, to which Chen replied "it's the same in Taiwan."
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
TRIP TO TAIWAN: The resumption of group tours from China should be discussed between the two agencies tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday reassured China-based businesspeople that he would follow former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) cross-strait policy to facilitate healthy and orderly exchanges with Beijing and build a resilient economy. “As president, I have three missions. First, I will follow president Tsai’s ‘four commitments’ to ensure that the country continues to exist and survive,” Lai told participants at a Lunar New Year event in Taipei hosted by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). Lai said his second mission is to uphold the “four pillars of peace” by bolstering national defense, developing a growing and resilient economy, building partnerships with
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his