Taiwan is to continue to deepen ties with Guatemala no matter which candidate wins the second round of its presidential election, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday amid tumult following the first round of the Central American ally’s election last month.
Former Guatemalan first lady Sandra Torres and Bernardo Arevalo of the Movimiento Semilla received the most votes in the first round of the election held on June 25 and advanced to a second round, which is scheduled for Aug. 20.
A court suspended the legal status of the Movimiento Semilla party on the grounds that a large number of signatures were allegedly illegally gathered to allow the party’s formation, but the nation’s top electoral body finally certified the results of the election on July 12, ensuring Arevalo’s qualification for the second round.
Photo: Reuters
The US said that it was “deeply concerned by efforts that interfere with the June 25 election result,” adding that “undermining the June 25 election would be a grave threat to democracy with far-reaching implications.”
The attempt to revoke the legal status of Movimiento Semilla might “put at risk the legitimacy of the electoral process at the core of Guatemala’s democracy,” US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement on July 13.
Nations including Germany, Canada, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Chile and Norway all expressed concerns over the suspension, while the Washington-based Organization of American States called for “free and transparent” measures to complete the election process.
Asked about the issue in Taipei, Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs head Cheng Li-cheng (鄭力城) yesterday told a regular news conference that democracy is a universal principle that members of the international community abide by.
The ministry called on all parties to follow the mechanism of democratic rule of law to resolve the dispute, he said.
Taiwan respects the judicial and electoral operations of Guatemala, and the results of the free will of the Guatemalan people and democratic procedures, he added.
The ministry would monitor the situation closely, Cheng said, adding that the government would continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the Guatemalan government based on shared values and the long-standing diplomatic partnership no matter who came out on top of the election next month.
Arevalo, the son of Guatemala’s first democratically elected president, Juan Jose Arevalo, visited Taiwan while serving as a deputy minister of foreign affairs in the 1990s.
Despite unpromising poll results prior to the first round of the election, Arevalo secured a surprise victory with his hard-line anti-corruption stance.
He said that he would pursue closer trade relations with China if he wins the presidential election.
Torres told Japanese media that if elected president, she would bolster Guatemala’s diplomatic and commercial ties with Taiwan, and consider establishing a special economic zone with preferential taxes to attract more Taiwanese investment.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS