Ministry thanks Paraguay for China envoy’s rejection

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Taiwan’s government has thanked Paraguay for its decision this past week to expel a visiting People’s Republic of China (PRC) envoy for urging the South American country to ditch Taipei in favor of Beijing.

Paraguay on Thursday kicked out Xu Wei (徐偉), a senior Chinese envoy to Latin America, after he openly called on the South American nation to break off ties with Taiwan. He was given 24 hours to leave the country, an AP report said.

Paraguay’s foreign ministry said it revoked the visa of Xu, who was in Paraguay for an annual UNESCO meeting and declared him persona non grata “over interference in internal affairs.”

Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times

The announcement was made after Xu skipped the UNESCO session and instead appeared at Paraguay’s Congress in Asuncion accompanied by two China-friendly Paraguayan lawmakers, where he openly called on the Taiwan ally to change its diplomatic recognition, the AP report said.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday praised Paraguay’s decision to expel Xu to uphold Paraguay’s sovereignty and safeguard the 67-year friendship between Taipei and Asuncion.

The ministry also urged the international community to clearly see how China is “abusing” its participation in international organizations such as UNESCO for its own interests and “sabotaging the rules-based international order.”

Asked about Paraguay’s move to expel Xu, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian (林劍) said on Friday that the South American country had made “unfounded and unjustified accusations” against Xu.

Lin reiterated Beijing’s long-held stance that Taiwan is part of the PRC’s territory.

Paraguay is the only nation in South America and one of 12 countries worldwide that formally recognize the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name.

The government of President Santiago Pena, which took office in August last year, has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to Taipei, despite efforts by Beijing to snatch away Taiwan’s formal allies in recent years.

Taiwan has lost 10 formal diplomatic allies, including four in Latin America — Honduras, Panama, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador — since May 2016, when the Democratic Progressive Party assumed office.

In other news, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), along with Paraguayan Ambassador to Taiwan Carlos Jose Fleitas and Master Transportation Bus Manufacturing chairman Wu Ting-fa (吳定發), on Saturday saw off a shipment of 30 domestically made electric buses to Paraguay from Taipei Port, a milestone in Taiwan’s efforts to help the South American country go green by exporting local technology.

The buses are expected to arrive in Paraguay by the end of February.

According to Lin, the cooperation project was first proposed by Pena and later confirmed in an memorandum of understanding signed in May during Pena’s visit to Taiwan.

As part of the deal, Master Transportation Bus Manufacturing also committed to investing an estimated US$30 million in an e-bus manufacturing and assembly plant in Paraguay.

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