Taipei accused Beijing yesterday of pouring money into the Marshall Islands to help the opposition in the just-concluded national elections in a bid to encourage the country to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.
"We are fully aware of China's interference in the election, which had a great impact on the results," said Donald Lee (
Although the ballot count has yet to be finalized, the opposition camp declared victory in the Marshall Islands' election last week.
A change of government in the Marshall Islands would raise concerns over its continued diplomatic ties with Taiwan, as Marshall Islands Parliamentary Speaker Litokwa Tomeing has declared his intention of establishing relations with Beijing.
Two days before the Nov. 19 election, Tomeing said the Marshall Islands had "wronged" China by recognizing Taiwan in 1998 and that it was time to "fix this problem by adopting a `one China' policy."
Tomeing defected from President Kessai Note's United Democratic Party the week before the election, joining the Aelon Kein Ad (AKA) Party, a main member of the opposition coalition known as the United People's Party.
"China has taken steps to work with the AKA, but the situation [how it views diplomatic relations with Taiwan] is now different," Lee said.
"We learned [on Monday] that Tomeing called our embassy and said that he was in no position to speak on behalf of the AKA [on the subject of] the Marshall Islands switching diplomatic ties to Beijing," Lee said.
"AKA spokesman Tony de Brum said two days ago that his party would continue to support Taiwan if it won the election and formed a new government," he said.
Beside condemning Beijing's interference in the election, Lee blasted some Marshall Islands-based Taiwanese businessmen for "helping" Beijing's campaign for AKA candidates.
"With help from Taiwanese businesspeople there, Beijing poured substantial amounts of money into the AKA candidates' campaigns three or four days before the election. They were unscrupulous. It's hard to believe they would choose to be Beijing's stooges," Lee said.
In related developments, Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said at a separate setting that the government would spare no effort to maintain diplomatic relations with the Marshall Islands.
Asked whether Taiwanese businesspeople were involved in Beijing's interference in the election, Huang said the ministry required more time to assess the situation.
"We do have some information, but we don't want to mislead anyone," Huang said.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such