Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday said his ministry would find out more from Paraguayan presidential candidate Efrain Alegre about his remarks that ties with Taiwan have damaged the nation’s agricultural sector by shutting out the Chinese market.
Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of a legislative session, Wu said he was “concerned” by Alegre’s assertion in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday that maintaining relations with Taipei had made it hard for Paraguay to sell beef and soy to China.
Wu later told lawmakers that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was communicating with people who are familiar with the issue to understand the “official stance” of Alegre, one of the leading contenders to win Paraguay’s presidential election on Sunday next week.
Photo: CNA
Wu said his ministry would continue to do its best to maintain ties with Paraguay, the only country in South America to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Alegre, who has vowed to cut ties with Taipei and establish diplomatic relations with Beijing, on Wednesday said that the “current relationship is insufficient,” vowing to “solve this based on national interests” if elected.
The latest polls show Alegre neck-and-neck with his main rival, the ruling conservative Colorado Party’s candidate, Santiago Pena, who has pledged to maintain ties with Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roy Lee (李淳) yesterday said that no matter which party wins Paraguay’s presidential election, the ministry is planning to send representatives to attend the new leader’s inauguration in August.
Lee did not say if President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) or Vice President William Lai (賴清德) would lead the delegation.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
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