Countries that have turned their backs on Taiwan will one day face the consequences of their actions, former El Salvadoran president Francisco Flores Perez said in Taipei.
Flores also said that China had no right to force its allies to sever relations with Taiwan as a condition to establishing ties with Beijing.
In an interview with the Taipei Times conducted on Friday, Flores, who led the Central American country from 1999 to 2004, said it was "morally inadmissible" for China to require countries to dump Taiwan in order to become China's ally.
"The request is morally inadmissible because it is an intervention in another country's sovereignty and China has no right to make such demands," he said.
Flores asserted that, in the era of globalization, countries benefit where there is a diversity in their foreign relations. However, the diversity should not come at the expense of another sovereign nation, he said.
When asked if he believed Costa Rica's abrupt break-up with Taiwan last June could trigger a domino effect in Central America, Perez declined to comment, except to say that countries that snuggle up with Beijing, thinking that they would profit from an economic boom, are suffering from an "illusion."
"One day those countries will realize that what they thought was an economic advantage may actually work against them. China will be a competitor to their local businesses instead of a complementary partner," he said.
Right now, he said, it has become a "fashionable trend" for countries to switch recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
"But soon these countries will realize the cost of turning their backs on Taiwan," he said.
Costa Rica stunned the nation last June when it decided to recognize Beijing over Taipei. The severance immediately sparked speculation of more switches from among Taipei allies in the region. It has been widely rumored that Panama, Paraguay and Nicaragua may follow suit in the near future.
Perez suggested that Taipei should be more aggressive in showing the world that "Taiwan meets the all the requirements to be part of the commonwealth of nations."
"I believe many nations will be more likely to establish ties with Taiwan once they know about this country," Flores said, adding that in his own country, "Taiwan is seen as a model of success in economic freedoms, human rights protection and poverty eradication."
El Salvador established relations with Taiwan in 1961.
Last August, on a trip to Central America, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) signed a free trade agreement with El Salvadoran President Antonio Saca.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
RSS