Taiwan will resume formal diplomatic ties with St. Lucia after a break of 10 years, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said last night.
The re-establishing of ties with St. Lucia -- one of the world's smallest countries with a population of 170,000 -- raises the number of Taiwanese allies to 25.
Taiwan first established diplomatic ties with St. Lucia in 1984 when John Compton was prime minister.
The 82-year-old Compton, who governed the Caribbean state for 29 years, had maintained ties with Taiwan for 13 years before being defeated by the Labor Party in 1996 elections.
St. Lucia severed ties with Taipei the following year when prime minister Kenneth Anthony switched recognition to Beijing.
Compton's United Workers Party won St. Lucia's general elections last December.
Following a secret visit to St. Lucia in mid-December when Compton assumed his post, Foreign Minister James Huang (
The exchange triggered a formal protest from the Chinese embassy in Castries, St. Lucia's capital.
St. Lucia's foreign minister has already announced the switch in parliament, Cabinet spokeswoman Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) said.
At press time there was no response from Beijing, though it is likely to sever ties with St. Lucia.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
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