Dismissing Beijing's criticism of the first Taiwan-Africa Summit, Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said yesterday that the event was not a move toward independence and that China is the one conducting "checkbook diplomacy."
"The Taiwan-Africa Summit is a normal diplomatic activity, but Beijing's suppression of Taiwan's diplomatic presence has become so hysterical that it considers it a move toward independence," he said.
Huang made the remarks in response to reporters' questions about the cost of the summit at a press conference held after the first session of the meeting's closed-door discussions.
Huang also rejected Beijing's allegation that the summit was part of the administration's "dollar diplomacy,"and pointed out that Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) promised to double China's aid to Africa from last year's level by 2009 at the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation held in Beijing last November.
Hu promised US$3 billion in loans, US$2 billion in export credits and a US$5 billion fund to encourage Chinese investment in Africa.
Huang said that Taiwan did not offer any new aid package or loan programs to any of the five African allies at yesterday's summit, although they were thinking of proposing an aid package similar to the "Jung Pang Project."
The "Jung Pang Project" refers to a NT$7.5 billion (US$250 million) investment project that Chen announced during his visit to Central America in October 2005. The funding is allocated to help the development of the nation's 12 allies in Central and South America.
Huang said he has visited Africa four times and believes the African market possesses great potential for further development. Using a Swaziland-based Taiwanese company as an example, Huang said the firm is helping the kingdom grow organic cotton.
President Chen Shui-Bian (
Taiwan is willing to share its experiences and achievements in this area, Chen said, but the cooperation and assistance must meet the individual needs of each country.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The cosponsors of a new US sanctions package targeting Russia on Thursday briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation and said the legislation would also have a deterrent effect on China and curb its ambitions regarding Taiwan. The bill backed by US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal calls for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports — targeting nations such as China and India, which account for about 70 percent of Russia’s energy trade, the bankroll of much of its war effort. Graham and Blumenthal told The Associated Press
INTEL: China’s ships are mapping strategic ocean floors, including near Guam, which could aid undersea cable targeting and have military applications, a report said China’s oceanographic survey and research ships are collecting data in the Indo-Pacific region — possibly to aid submarine navigation, detect or map undersea cables, and lay naval mines — activities that could have military applications in a conflict with Taiwan or the US, a New York Times report said. The article, titled “China Surveys Seabeds Where Naval Rivals May One Day Clash,” was written by Chris Buckley and published on Thursday. Starboard Maritime Intelligence data revealed that Chinese research ships last year repeatedly scanned the ocean floor east of Taiwan’s maritime border, and about 400km east and west of Guam; “waters that
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