While relations with the nation’s diplomatic allies remain stable, China has been increasingly active in its attempts to poach Caribbean and Central American allies, including Haiti and the Dominican Republic, a government source said on Saturday.
“If China takes a heavy-handed approach, there is little we can do,” the source said.
Even when former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was in office, Beijing was incessantly active, despite the so-called “diplomatic armistice,” the source said, citing political maneuvering by the former China Commercial Office in Panama.
Head representative of China’s Office of Commercial Development in the Dominican Republic, Fu Xinrong (傅新蓉), was previously deputy director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, which on Friday announced plans to invest US$820 million to build an incinerator, natural gas plant and hydro power plant in the Dominican Republic.
China is investing through direct injection of government funds, as well as through infrastructure projects run by its state-owned enterprises, the source said.
“Even if they sustain losses, they will take on these projects,” the source said. “Decades ago, Taiwanese enterprises would do the same to help with foreign affairs efforts, but what state-owned enterprise in Taiwan can do this today?”
Other nations have assisted Taiwan in stabilizing its relationship with the Dominican Republic, but the stability is only temporary, the source said.
China is capable of spending a large sum of money to poach the Dominican Republic as a diplomatic ally, the source said, adding: “Even among the relatively more stable allies in the South Pacific, there are some who will negotiate with Beijing.”
As China has more than 170 diplomatic allies, it is likely that giving a large amount of money to just a handful of them will cause strife with others, the source said.
It is likely that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not deciding which of Taiwan’s allies to go after, but rather Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is, the source added.
“As US President Donald Trump is set to visit China, analysts say the US is carefully watching China’s attitude,” the source said. “As [former Australian prime minister] Tony Abbott has said: ‘China-focused policies are all about greed and fear — on the one hand hoping for an expanded market, while on the other hand worrying about threats and security.’”
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS