The China Post
Date: March 27, 2017
By Joseph Yeh

It has been years since observers speculated that Taiwan could gain diplomatic allies

In this December 21, 2016, photo, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維), center, speaks at a news conference on the Republic of China’s decision to break diplomatic ties with Sao Tome and Principe. (Joseph Yeh, The China Post)

— a drought broken after foreign media reported earlier this month that the island is moving closer to the Sovereign Order of Malta.

Ralph Jennings, a contributor for Forbes, wrote on March 13 that Taiwan and the Sovereign Order of Malta, a tiny European government inside Rome, could form official ties even though both governments had given no formal indication of their intention to do so, having only stressing further cooperation between the two sides.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry did not directly confirm or deny the report. But a senior diplomatic source later told The China Post that this is a “nonissue” since the order’s international status is debatable given the U.N. sees it as “sovereign entity” and not a “sovereign state.”    [FULL  STORY]