President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday promised to give “priority consideration” to an invitation from Panama for her to attend the inauguration ceremony of the expanded Panama Canal on June 26.
Tsai made the remarks during a meeting with Panamian Ambassador Alfredo Martiz, who delivered the invitation from Panamanian President Juan Carlos Valera for the canal’s inauguration to Tsai in person.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was also invited.
Photo: CNA
“Ambassador Martiz congratulated Tsai on her election win [on Jan. 16] and said that, since the years-long construction is important to Panama, it has invited all its diplomatic allies, as well as important users of the canal, to take part,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson Ruan Jhao-syong (阮昭雄) said after the meeting behind closed doors at party headquarters in Taipei.
“Tsai thanked the Panamanian president for his sincere invitation and though the inauguration ceremony is only one month after the presidential inauguration on May 20, she would give it priority consideration,” Ruan said.
At the meeting, Tsai and Martiz discussed potential cooperation between the two nations, including in the biotechnology, “renewable” energy, telecommunications and medical industries.
In response to media queries about Panama’s invitation for Xi to attend the ceremony — with some politicians and political commentators speculating that Panama might be expressing a desire to establish formal diplomatic ties with China through the invitation — Martiz said that diplomatic ties between Taipei and Panama City remain firm.
“The Panama Canal is open to the international world; this is the answer to this question, but Taiwan is our ally and we have a relationship with them,” Martiz said in English. “That’s why we are here to show the people in Taiwan the relationship between Taiwan and Panama is [a] very good one.”
“No need to be afraid. Feel happy. Panama and Taiwan, they are good friends,” he added.
Although Tsai has not said whether she would attend the event, most DPP legislators said they would support a decision to go.
“If the first occasion for the leaders from both sides [of the Taiwan Strait] to meet is to be in Panama — in an international setting — it would not be a bad thing,” DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said. “However, Tsai should be clear that the meeting would not be ‘accidental,’ if it happens.”
Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said it was not certain that Tsai and Xi would meet, even if they both attended the event.
“China has always tried to avoid meetings between leaders from both sides at international events, so I think the possibility of Tsai meeting with Xi in Panama is not too high,” Lo said.
However, Lo said Tsai should accept the invitation regardless of the possibility of a meeting with the Chinese leader, as it would be an important event that leaders from many countries would attend and it would be beneficial for Tsai to interact with them.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators also voiced support for Tsai’s potential trip to Panama.
KMT caucus whip Lin Te-fu (林德福) said Taiwan is facing great challenges in diplomacy, so if there is a chance for the future president to engage in international interactions that are helpful to the nation, the KMT would not oppose the trip.
KMT Legislator John Wu (吳志揚) said Tsai “has to go,” regardless of China’s attitude.
Meanwhile, China reacted frostily yesterday.
Asked whether Xi would attend the ceremony and if he might meet Tsai, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei (洪磊) did not answer directly.
“What I want to point out is that China has always had the ‘one China’ principle as a fundamental precondition for handling and developing relations with countries around the world,” Hong told a daily news briefing, without elaborating.
Additional reporting by Alison Hsiao and Reuters
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
NEGOTIATIONS: Taiwan has good relations with Washington and the outlook for the negotiations looks promising, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo said Taiwan’s GDP growth this year is expected to decrease by 0.43 to 1.61 percentage points due to the effects of US tariffs, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei yesterday, citing a preliminary estimate by a private research institution. Taiwan’s economy would be significantly affected by the 32 percent “reciprocal” tariffs slapped by the US, which took effect yesterday, Liu said, adding that GDP growth could fall below 3 percent and potentially even dip below 2 percent to 1.53 percent this year. The council has commissioned another institution
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS