The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday denied a blog report that it has paid US$1.7 million for a national celebration in Swaziland this month, saying it only funded a fireworks show.
An article on the Swazi Media Commentary blog on Wednesday last week said Taipei has donated US$1.7 million for celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Swaziland’s independence from the UK and its establishment of diplomatic ties with Taiwan, as well as the 50th birthday of King Mswati III.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is to leave for a five-day state visit to Swaziland on Tuesday, is the only head of state to have publicly accepted an invitation to the event on Thursday next week, the blog said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) asked Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) about the allegations during a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
“This [the report] is incorrect and absolutely false. We provided only a small amount of money for a fireworks show at the celebration,” Wu said, without disclosing the actual amount except to say it was less than the figure mentioned in the blog.
Some Taiwanese businesses have also donated educational equipment to the African nation, but the donations were not related to the celebrations, Wu said.
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) asked why the ministry did not arrange for Tsai to make a transit stop in a third country on her way to or from Swaziland.
“Former presidents Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) made transit stops in non-diplomatic allies during their state visits to Africa, except for Chen’s 2002 trip, due to Chinese pressure,” Lo said.
China was not a factor behind the lack of transit stops, because Swaziland can be reached without stopping, the minister said.
However, Lo said he was disappointed by the ministry’s unwillingness to “even try” for a transit stop.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS