Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) officials yesterday said that the ministry would seek lawmakers' support for offering debt reductions to Taiwan's allies, but stressed the plan was not the same as canceling the debt.
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said on Wednesday that he had ordered the ministry's Department of Economy and Trade to draw up plans that provide debt reduction to the nation's allies, but that the plans would not be completed in time for the summit that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) will attend next month.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Tzu-pao (楊子葆) said yesterday that offering poor countries debt relief was a global trend.
"Most highly indebted countries borrow money from a number of different countries. Therefore, if we want to offer them a debt reduction, we need to communicate with the other debtor nations first," Yang said.
"MOFA will hold a public hearing in the legislature and seek the support of lawmakers and the Taiwanese people before proceeding," Yang said.
Yang also stressed that debt reduction did not equal cancelation.
"Debt reduction actually includes the extension of repayments or remission of interest," Yang said. "It will not do us any good to force poor nations to pay back what they cannot afford."
About 10 allies qualify for debt reduction, but MOFA will control the evaluation of priority and would seek consensus before implementing any plan, Yang said.
As for repayment terms for countries that have broken off diplomatic ties with Taiwan, Yang said that MOFA would assure that the terms are met through international law.
"For example, despite severing diplomatic relations, South Africa has been making loan repayments consistently and on time," Yang said.
Lawmakers were divided on the issue.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Jih-Chu (李紀珠) said that she personally supported the idea.
"I would back debt-relief as long as it doesn't give our allies the impression that they do not need to pay back debts to Taiwan in the future," she said.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) said that the party would reject MOFA's plan, whatever the details.
"We are strongly opposed to offering debt-relief in order to maintain diplomatic relationships with allies, unless it is demonstrated that those allies cannot survive without such a debt-relief plan," Fu said.
PFP Legislator Daniel Hwang (黃義交) questioned MOFA's motives.
"It can't be just because debt-relief is an international trend. It [the plan] follows the severance of relations with Costa Rica and rumors that the president has met difficulties in arranging next month's trip to Latin American," Hwang said.
Hwang said that the country would come under fire if the international community finds out that Taiwan has ulterior motives in proposing the plan.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Kuo Lin-yung (郭林勇) said that MOFA has to give due consideration to the plan.
"The ministry should tell the public how effective the plan would be in terms of consolidating the nation's relationships with its allies," Kuo said.
Kuo said that his party would support the plan as long as it simply prolongs the repayment period of outstanding loans, but would not support simply writing off any outstanding debt.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its