Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said yesterday that the nation's diplomatic ties with Costa Rica were stable and that they were not threatened by an upcoming meeting between Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (李肇星).
"Our relations with Costa Rica are stable. We are aware that China has managed to have its officials meet President Arias in its continuing efforts to woo allies away from Taiwan," Lu said.
"As far as we know, the president of Costa Rica might talk about the issue of economic and trade cooperation with Li during the meeting," Lu said.
"We will closely monitor the meeting and be alert to China's actions," Lu added.
Arias was to meet Li yesterday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno said in an interview from New York broadcast on a local radio station.
Arias and Li were expected to explore the possibility of establishing official relations, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
Stagno said he met with Li last week in Havana at the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Lu said China had not only attempted to engage in a dialogue with the Costa Rican president at the UN General Assembly, but had also sought -- via Mexico's foreign minister -- talks between Chinese leaders and the leaders of all five of Taiwan's Central American diplomatic allies -- Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Lu said that as far as he knew, Nicaragua's representatives to the UN General Assembly had turned down requests for meetings with their Chinese counterparts.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
RSS