Diplomatic ties with El Salvador remain solid amid reports that the Central American nation was considering switching its recognition to Beijing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
Salvadorean President Mauricio Funes was quoted by The Associated Press (AP) as saying that his government was “exploring” the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Funes said the decision would depend on “what is best for the country,” business-wise, adding, “we’re exploring new markets,” AP reported.
Funes’ comments came as a trade fair opened in San Salvador that included representatives from more than 50 Chinese firms, AP said.
Reuters reported that Funes told reporters at the opening of the fair that his nation might establish diplomatic ties with China if recognizing Beijing would be economically beneficial.
“If it is good for the country, we will do it,” Reuters quoted Funes as saying.
Salvadorean Ambassador to Taiwan Marta Chang de Tsien could not be reached to confirm the reports. The Salvadorean embassy said she was not in the office.
Though he was unable to confirm the accuracy of the wire reports, ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said the ministry had made contact with the Salvadorean government, which ensured its diplomatic ties with Taipei were solid.
El Salvador said that while it would consider building economic and trade relations with China, it affirmed its relationship with Taiwan and said it would continue to strengthen ties and carry out cooperative programs beneficial to Salvadorans, Chang said.
The loss of El Salvador would be extremely embarrassing to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who has said that the apparent truce between Taiwan and China concerning attempts to gain diplomatic allies at the other’s expense was a major accomplishment of his administration.
Foreign affairs analyst Alexander Huang (黃介正) of Tamkang University said in Taipei that it was very unlikely that China would risk undermining Ma’s position by poaching El Salvador, particularly ahead of the special municipality elections on Saturday.
“If this is truly a Beijing move, it is not going to look good for the ruling party,” Huang said. “But there is no reason why China would want to undermine the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] campaign.”
Funes re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba, which were broken off in 1961, after taking office last year.
Taiwan is recognized by only 23 nations.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AP
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER: In Germany, the sector would be developed around Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s plant, and extend to Poland and the Czech Republic The Executive Yuan’s economic diplomacy task force has approved programs aimed at bolstering the nation’s chip diplomacy with Japan and European nations. The task force in its first meeting had its operational mechanism and organizational structure confirmed, with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) the convener, and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成) the deputy conveners. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) would be the convener of the task force’s strategy group in charge of policy planning for economic diplomacy. The meeting was attended by the heads of the National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the
RSS