Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) executive president Dante Mossi thanked Taiwan for its contribution to the region after Nicaragua proposed replacing Taiwan with China in the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN).
Then-PARLACEN president Guillermo Daniel Ortega Reyes of Nicaragua in April last year issued a statement that had not been discussed by the parliament, saying there was only “one China.”
Nicaragua last month proposed replacing the Legislative Yuan with the Chinese National People’s Congress as an observer in PARLACEN.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Five of the six PARLACEN member states — the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras Nicaragua and Panama — recognize the People’s Republic of China as the sole representative of China, the proposal said.
Guatemala is the only PARLACEN member state that has diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
The proposal was submitted to PARLACEN’s Commission of International Relations and Migration Affairs and is to be deliberated when the parliament convenes next month.
PARLACEN adopts majority rule, which is unfavorable for Taiwan, a person familiar with the matter said, asking to remain anonymous.
Taiwan is striving to explain the nation’s contribution to the region to the parliament’s representatives and has maintained communication with them, the person said, adding that the statement issued by Nicaragua last year sparked a backlash from several representatives.
The System of Central American Integration (SICA) comprises PARLACEN, the CABEI and the Central American Common Market.
If the proposal to replace Taiwan is pushed through, some are worried that Taiwan’s observer status in SICA and its non-regional membership in the CABEI might be challenged next.
Mossi wrote on LinkedIn that Taiwan is the largest shareholder of the CABEI and “its impact in the region dwarfs any trade impact from any other country in Asia.”
A research paper conducted by the CABEI shows that none of the eight Central American countries had any significant gain with trade or investments after establishing diplomatic ties with China, he said, adding that an exception might be Panama because of trade through the Panama Canal.
“We are too far from Asia, and the size of Central America is not that attractive to the mammoths in Asia,” he said.
The CABEI has provided more than US$16 billion in loans over the past four years, of which Taiwan holds an almost 11 percent share, he said.
“For that, many thanks! Xie Xie,” he wrote.
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