Paraguay has accepted Taiwan’s proposal of a new ambassador, while ties between the two allies remain stable, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told lawmakers yesterday, adding that Taiwan would also be appointing a new ambassador to Haiti.
Wu made the remarks after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷) on Wednesday asked whether Paraguay has grown closer to China.
Paraguay and Haiti are two of Taiwan’s 15 remaining diplomatic allies.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The ministry on Monday “recalled” Ambassador to Paraguay Diego Chou (周麟) after Paraguay received more than 40,000kg of disease prevention goods from China last week, the lawmaker said, asking the ministry whether the two incidents were related.
Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) later in the day said that Chou had not been recalled, but transferred back to the ministry as part of a normal rotation.
Instead of receiving donations from China, the Paraguayan government has clarified that the disease-prevention goods were purchased by Paraguayan firms from China, Ou added.
Diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Paraguay remain stable and Asuncion has accepted Taiwan’s new ambassador, Joseph Wu said yesterday during a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, without naming the new ambassador.
There is no fixed term for an ambassador’s tenure and the change of the envoy to Paraguay was part of the ministry’s normal rotation, Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Director-General Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) said.
Asked about the diplomatic rotation in Haiti — Ambassador to Haiti Bernard Liu (劉邦治) returned to Taiwan in the middle of last month — Joseph Wu said that the ministry would soon appoint a new envoy to Port-au-Prince.
While some reports have said that Liu returned to Taiwan because of an argument he had with Haitian President Jovenel Moise, Joseph Wu said that Liu returned on business, but that he had defended Taiwan’s stance on certain issues during diplomatic negotiations.
Media reported that Moise ordered Liu to leave Haiti within 72 hours after a purported disagreement between them.
Liu did not disrespect any high-ranking Haitian officials during the negotiations, Joseph Wu said, adding that ambassador functions have been temporarily assumed by senior colleagues.
Who would be the new ambassador to Haiti has yet to be decided, but would soon be announced, he added.
With the Cabinet due for a reshuffle after the May 20 presidential inauguration, Joseph Wu was asked what his next move is, but he said the choice of “battlefield” was not up to him — he would continue to battle for Taiwan’s diplomacy whatever his assignment.
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