Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/04/27
By: Elaine Hou, Shih Hsiu-chuan and Ko Lin

Photo courtesy of Tsai Min-hua

Taipei and Jakarta, April 27 (CNA) Taiwan currently has no plans to evacuate its nationals in the Solomon Islands but is closely monitoring the public protests in the capital in the wake of the general elections there, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in Taipei said Saturday.

Police in Honiara have arrested some 30 people in connection with the unrest, but authorities there have said the situation is now under control, MOFA spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) told CNA.

Lee said riots broke out in Honiara earlier in the week because some people were unhappy with veteran politician Manasseh Sogavare’s victory in Wednesday’s election.

Following an inconclusive April 3 election in which no one party emerged with a majority, Sogavare won the backing of 34 of the Solomon Islands’ 50 parliamentarians in a controversial run-off, although his opponents boycotted the vote.  [FULL  STORY]