Marshallese President Hilda Heine yesterday narrowly survived a vote of no confidence, seeing off a challenge she said was orchestrated by Chinese-backed business interests intent on undermining the Marshall Islands’ sovereignty.
The nation is one of Taiwan’s formal diplomatic allies.
The vote to topple Heine, the first and only elected female leader of a Pacific island nation, split parliament 16-16, one short of the 17 her opponents required.
In front of a packed public gallery, Heine and her allies spent 45 minutes defending the government’s record, including claims from the opposition that it had sullied the country’s international reputation and eroded voting rights.
Once the vote was confirmed, Marshallese Legislative Speaker Kenneth Kedi — who backed the no-confidence move — congratulated Heine and declared that parliament was in recess.
In the days leading up to the vote, Heine said that the opposition’s stated reasons for trying to unseat her were a “smokescreen” to cover their real motives.
She said that the no-confidence motion was actually prompted by her government’s refusal to back plans for an independently administered tax haven on an atoll within the Marshall Islands.
The proposed Rongelap Atoll Special Administrative Region is the brainchild of Cary Yan (陳宏), a Chinese businessman and Marshallese citizen who launched the concept in Hong Kong earlier this year.
The idea is that the territory would be self-governing and completely tax-free, making it an attractive option for high-tech firms.
Heine’s government has rejected the proposal over concerns that it could be vulnerable to money laundering and passport-for-sale scams.
She last week said that the special administrative region could be a Trojan horse for China to take over part of her country.
The no-confidence vote was “an effort by certain foreign interests to take control of one of our atolls and turn it into a country within our own country,” Heine told Radio New Zealand.
Beijing has used billions of dollars in investment to court influence with tiny island nations across the Pacific Ocean, a region considered strategically important as a maritime gateway to Asia.
Heine said she was determined to protect her country’s sovereignty.
“We have to be cautious knowing what the geopolitical situation is in the Pacific region,” she said. “I think it’s important for the government to do its own due diligence and ensure that the sovereignty of the country is secure.”
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