Further study is needed to understand reports in Costa Rica that the country's former president received donations from Taiwan's government during his presidency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The reports said the ministry gave Miguel Angel Rodriguez US$200,000 in 2001 and that Taiwan's embassy in Costa Rica donated the same amount of money to him in 2002.
A spokeswoman for the embassy in Costa Rica told the Central News Agency that the embassy "had no information" about the alleged donations.
A Costa Rican court confirmed on Wednesday that it had started an investigation into the donations.
Ministry spokesman Michel Lu (
"We shall not get involved in Costa Rica's judicial procedures," he said.
"The ministry is trying to understand the reports. Our country offers aid to our allies through mutual negotiations. These aid projects primarily aim to help our allies' national development," Lu said.
Opposition officials in Costa Rica have called for the country to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan after news about Rodriguez's alleged acceptance of the donations broke.
Answering questions about the demand, Lu said, "We would not interfere into another country's domestic politics."
Rodriguez is also under fire for other reasons.
He resigned from his job as secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS) last Friday amid corruption allega-tions. He had held the position for barely two weeks.
Rodriguez said he offered his resignation "with profound pain."
He faces charges that he accepted a bribe in connection with a contract the Costa Rican Electricity Institute awarded to a French company.
Rodriguez's close friend and former housing minister, Jose Antonio Lobo, who is now under house arrest and cooperating with authorities, told prosecutors earlier this month that then-president Rodriguez demanded a cut of the lucrative deal.
On Oct. 4, Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco asked Rodriguez, also a member of the ruling party, to resign "in the interest of Costa Rica's good name and the OAS itself."
That evening, 43 of 47 members of Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly also demanded Rodriguez's resignation.
The controversy has been a blow to the country's reputation.
"In many respects, Costa Rica has been Latin America's model nation. Its political stability and economic prosperity contrasting sharply with its neighbors," a Washington Post report said upon Rodriguez's resignation.
"Its nearly 4 million people enjoy one of the strongest social safety nets and highest levels of education in the Americas, making tiny Costa Rica hugely attractive to foreign investors, tourists and retirees. The OAS post, never held by a Central American, was the latest jewel in the country's crown," the report said.
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