Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/09/12
By: Elaine Hou and Emerson Lim

Taipei, Sept. 12 (CNA) Chinese pledges of financial assistance are often not reliable, resulting in a

country that recently cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan since seeking to re-establish relations, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) revealed in a recent interview with CNA.

China likes to use its financial pledges to lure away Taiwan's diplomatic allies. Recently, ties with the Solomon Islands have been shaky because of Beijing's promises to provide development assistance, according to reports in the foreign media.

Taiwan does not know what pledges China has made to Honiara, Wu said in the exclusive interview on Wednesday, adding only that based on previous cases, China often breaks its promises.

Moreover, even if China follows through, recipient countries can find themselves in unaffordable debt, Wu warned, citing the cases of São Tomé and Príncipe, Dominican Republic and Burkina Faso, all former diplomatic allies of Taiwan that switched to China over the past three years.
[FULL  STORY]