The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday played down the attendance of two of Taiwan's diplomatic allies at an international forum in Beijing, which sparked fears of a possible rupture in relations.
The ministry in a statement said it was aware the two allied countries were sending representatives to the forum, as "the governments of our allies informed us of the situation through Taiwan's embassies in advance."
Photo: Taipei Times
It also said that the Forum of China and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) is part of the forum's routine meetings worldwide, and the two officials attended in capacities that did not represent their respective governments.
Taiwan's diplomatic relations with both allies remain strong and stable, MOFA said.
Reuters early yesterday said that its reporters at the Forum of China and CELAC saw the national flags of Haiti and Saint Lucia in the main hall at the venue in the Chinese capital.
Haiti was represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste and Saint Lucia by diplomat Peter Lansiquot, although the MOFA statement said that Jean-Baptiste attended as Haiti's CELAC representative, while Lansiquot was representing his political party.
The two Caribbean countries are among 12 states worldwide that recognize Taiwan.
Their presence raised concerns about the future of formal ties, especially given that other members of CELAC with diplomatic relations with Taiwan — Guatemala, Paraguay, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — did not attend the event.
The timing was also sensitive, coming just more than a week before the first anniversary of President William Lai's (賴清德) inauguration as president Tuesday next week, as Beijing often uses dates near important occasions in Taiwan politics to snatch away Taiwan's allies.
Records show that Haiti (in 2015) and St Lucia (in 2018) have attended at least one of the three CELAC forums in China held in the past, indicating that the presence of allies at the forum is not abnormal.
Taiwan has lost 10 diplomatic allies to China since May 2016 after former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party took office.
Five of them — Panama, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras — were Latin American countries.
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