The messages brought back by the country’s last ambassador to the Gambia Samuel Chen (陳士良) yesterday was that Gambian President Yahya Jammeh considered the limit of Taiwan’s financial assistance for Gambia to not be in the “strategic national interests” of his country, diplomatic sources said.
In response to Jammeh’s decision to break off relations with Taiwan on Nov. 14 for reasons of “strategic national interests,” the Taiwan government on Monday announced the termination of bilateral ties to safeguard the nation’s dignity and the principles of its foreign aid policy aimed to stop “checkbook diplomacy.”
At a legislative meeting on Monday, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) said Jammeh had made “exorbitant demands” for aid from Taiwan, in an apparent move to confirm the assertion made by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) that Jammeh in January had requested more than US$10 million in cash without specified purposes.
David Lin told lawmakers at that time that the request by Jammeh was “unacceptable” and that “we were unable to satisfy his request.”
Diplomatic sources said the ministry yesterday reaffirmed that at the center of Jammeh’s strategic thoughts on national interests was the scale of foreign aid his country can receive from Taiwan and other donor nations.
Chen went to the ministry to report to Lin about the case straight from the airport. The meeting lasted five hours.
The stated purpose of Jammeh’s request of US$10 million was “national security,” which was more like a blank check than a project-orientated request that has to be implemented in line with the three principles — justifiable purposes, legal procedures and effective implementation — under the ministry’s foreign aid policy, sources said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
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