Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/13
By: Elaine Hou and Ko Lin

Taipei, Sept. 13 (CNA) China likes to brag about its lavish financial pledges and flashy infrastructure aid, but often they end up benefiting the personal gains of only a few unscrupulous politicians, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) warned Friday.

The ministry's comments came after recent foreign media reports that a delegation of officials from the Solomon Islands visited China in August and met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅), during which the two sides struck a deal to establish bilateral ties before Oct. 1 in exchange for US$500 million in financial assistance from Beijing.

According to the reports, Beijing also pledged to send agricultural and medical teams to the Solomon Islands, similar to the assistance currently provided by Taiwan.

MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told CNA that the ministry has been cautioning its allies not to be lured by China's multi-billion dollar pledges that will either remain unfulfilled or lead the recipient countries into debt traps.    [FULL  STORY]