Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-08-10

A foreign ministry official on Thursday rejected an overseas media claim that Taiwan

gave US$600 million to Guatemala.

The claim was made by a media outlet in neighboring Belize and reprinted in the Taiwan edition of Apple Daily. Both Guatemala and Belize are diplomatic allies of Taiwan in Central America. The report said the supposed financial aid to Guatemala included a gift of US$250 million. By contrast, the report said Belize had only received US$60 million from Taiwan, one tenth of the amount allegedly given to Guatemala.

Lee Hsien-chang of the foreign ministry dismissed the claim on Thursday, however. He said the ministry does not comment on the individual costs of Taiwan’s overseas assistance projects. But he said the US$600 million figure quoted was an inconceivably large amount and should not be taken seriously.

The foreign ministry this year has a budget in the region of US$800 million, making the Belize media report’s claim unlikely.    [SOURCE]