President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Thursday addressed the parliament of Saint Lucia, touting the mutual benefits of bilateral cooperation and saying there is no concern that Taiwanese loans could ever become debt traps.
While project loans would come from Taiwanese banks, the work would be contracted out to Saint Lucian firms through Overseas Engineering and Construction Co, meaning that Taiwan would hire local workers, Tsai said.
“This model of cooperation ensures that both our peoples can participate and reap the benefits. There will be no issue of ‘debt traps,’ unlike some other cooperation models,” she said, adding that she believes in mutually beneficial projects rooted in strong communication and collaboration.
Photo: CNA
Tsai’s comment came in the wake of accusations in the West that China is using its Belt and Road Initiative to exert control over countries that join the transnational infrastructure investment scheme and trap them in debt.
“Taiwan and Saint Lucia are small countries, and we both face challenges brought about by geography, access to resources and climate change. Yet we have both walked the long road to democratization,” Tsai said.
Later, Tsai and Saint Lucian Prime Minister Allen Chastanet attended the launch of the second phase of the Government Island-wide Network and a ceremony at the Gros Islet Human Resource Development Centre, projects that are being implemented in cooperation with Taiwan.
In remarks at the launch, Tsai said that Taiwan and Saint Lucia have cooperated on Internet infrastructure since 2015.
Since then, 63 wireless Internet hotspots have been installed in 33 locations in five regions of the Caribbean country, she said.
At the inauguration ceremony for the center, Tsai said that it would be a focal point for education, local culture and tourism promotion.
The center is part of the Community Development Project the two nations have been working on since 2007, Tsai said.
The project has created 25,000 job opportunities and completed more than 2,400 public infrastructure projects, including flood control and drainage systems, and paths, she said.
Chastanet thanked Taiwan for its support and assistance with the two projects.
Tsai was to depart Saint Lucia at about 10am yesterday, ending a state visit to Taiwan’s four diplomatic allies in the region. She was to fly to Denver, Colorado, for a two-night visit before returning to Taiwan, with her arrival set for Monday.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai