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The Gambia needs financial aid from mainland China: Taiwanese official

ROC Central News Agency

2016/03/18 17:20:19

Taipei, March 18 (CNA) The Gambia needs financial assistance from foreign countries to improve its domestic economy, a Taiwanese official said Friday while commenting on the reason behind the African country resuming diplomatic ties with mainland China two years after it severed relations with Taiwan.

Since The Gambia broke ties with Taiwan in November 2013, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been following developments in that country, said Chen Chun-shen (陳俊賢), director-general of the ministry's Department of West Asian and African Affairs.

Taiwan has been aware that Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has been in contact with mainland China, Chen said. The economy in the country is in poor condition, and Jammeh needs financial support from outside, as the country is scheduled to hold a presidential election later this year, Chen said.

That is the main reason behind the resumption of diplomatic ties between The Gambia and the mainland, Chen said.

He made the remarks at a news conference called by lawmakers who are concerned about the issue.

When The Gambia unilaterally cut ties with Taiwan in 2013, Taiwan's Ambassador to The Gambia Samuel Chen (陳士良) at the time confirmed that Jammeh had demanded US$10 million in extra aid, which was not granted because the proposal lacked a plan and did not meet Taiwan's principles for granting foreign aid.

Also at Friday's news conference was Hu Ai-ling (胡愛玲), a senior official of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the Cabinet-level agency responsible for mainland China policy.

The MAC said it had received advance notification from the mainland about the issue early Thursday afternoon, and immediately voiced strong dissatisfaction over the move, because it goes in the opposite direction of the stable development of relations across the Taiwan Strait built up over the past several years.

Hsia Li-yan (夏立言), head of the MAC, sought to talk to his Chinese counterpart Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), head of Beijing-based Taiwan Affairs Office, through the cross-strait hotline to discuss the issue later Thursday, Hu said.

But the mainland side declined, saying that Zhang was not in the office, she said.

It is the mutual responsibility of both sides of the strait to maintain stability and peace in the strait, Hu said, urging Beijing to cherish the achievements achieved in recent years and to refrain from any action that might undermine the development of cross-strait relations.

On Thursday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and The Gambia issued a joint statement indicating that they had re-established official relations after a hiatus of 21 years.

'The Government of the People's Republic of China supports the Government of the Islamic Republic of The Gambia in its efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and develop the economy,' the statement said.

'The Government of the Islamic Republic of The Gambia recognizes that there is only one China in the world, and that the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China...' it added.

Asked about the content of the statement by a lawmaker during a legislative floor session, Premier Simon Chang (張善政) said they were just 'canned texts' that China requires any of its diplomatic allies to agree upon.

During the same legislative session, Deputy Foreign Minister Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達) noted that in 2013, Jammeh unilaterally decided to break ties with Taiwan for 'personal reasons' and that there was no mainland factor.

The Gambia's economy has since deteriorated, and it has been trying to find a way out, Linghu said.

Asked whether other Taiwanese diplomatic allies will follow suit, Linghu said that Taiwan maintains strong ties with all of its 22 diplomatic allies and that he does not foresee any changes in the short term.

Taiwan has voiced a strong protest over the resumption of diplomatic ties between The Gambia and mainland China, saying that it hurts the development of cross-strait ties.

The resumption has occurred during the power transition in Taiwan, with President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) set to take office in May. Many people in Taiwan see the move as a warning by Beijing to Tsai of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.

(By Wang Cheng-chung, Wen Kuei-hsiang and Elaine Hou)
ENDITEM/J