Taipei Times
Date: May 12, 2018
By: Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Nicaragua will not abandon Taiwan, Nicaraguan Ambassador William Tapia said yesterday, adding that the Central American nation will not be “bought by dollars.”

Tapia made the remarks at a gathering with the media at the Nicaraguan embassy in Taipei, amid mounting concerns that the nation’s other diplomatic allies could follow in the footsteps of the Dominican Republic, which last month switched diplomatic recognition to China.

Nicaragua is one of Taiwan’s 19 diplomatic allies. The two nations resumed diplomatic ties in 1990 after then-Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega — who is also the incumbent president — switched recognition to Beijing in 1985.

“We have never thought about leaving Taiwan. Why would we leave Taiwan? It is our best ally… My president [Ortega] has said that as long as he is president of Nicaragua, we [will] never abandon Taiwan,” Tapia said.    [FULL  STORY]