Guatemala reaffirmed its support for Taiwan during a meeting between Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Ramiro Martinez and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa on Wednesday.
After attending President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration ceremony in Taiwan on Monday, Martinez’s delegation left for Japan on Wednesday.
Although Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo was unable to attend the ceremony personally, he requested a videoconference with Lai on Tuesday to convey his congratulations, Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Department Deputy Director-General Chang Tzu-hsin (張自信) told a regular news briefing.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
Arevalo told Lai that he looked forward to further strengthening the friendship between Taiwan and Guatemala, he added.
Martinez and Kamikawa had a meeting on Wednesday for about 30 minutes, which was followed by a working dinner that lasted about 70 minutes, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The two foreign ministers exchanged views on cooperation in the international arena, including the situation in East Asia, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it said.
Martinez made particular mention of Taiwan, saying that “Guatemala’s support for Taiwan remains unchanged” and that next year would mark the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two sides, it said.
Martinez’s visit to Japan drew attention from local media as Guatemala maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan while other Central American nations Panama and Honduras have switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in recent years, the Sankei Shimbun reported.
If Guatemala, which accounts for about half the population and economy of the 12 countries that officially recognize Taiwan, were to sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Taiwan’s “international presence would be cut in half,” the paper cited a senior official at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying.
A decline in Taiwan’s international presence could have an impact on Japan’s security, which is why Japan attaches great importance to Guatemala, it said.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Paraguay, the only country in South America that recognizes Taiwan, earlier this month was due to a similar concern, it said.
Kishida and Paraguayan President Santiago Pena agreed during their meeting to cooperate in maintaining and strengthening a free and open international order, and voiced opposition to China’s attempt to unilaterally change the “status quo.”
Separately, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Kitts and Nevis established diplomatic relations with Palau in the presence of Lai, the ministry said yesterday.
The two Taiwanese diplomatic allies in the Caribbean sent delegations to the nation to attend Lai’s inauguration ceremony on Monday and signed the documents with another of Taiwan’s allies during their visit, Chang said.
It is hoped that Taiwan could be the starting point for democracies around the world to work with and support each other to safeguard democracy and freedom, he said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to