Taiwan summons El Salvador envoy to protest break in ties

ROC Central News Agency

2018/08/21 14:49:41

Taipei, Aug. 21 (CNA) Vice Foreign Minister Jose Maria Liu (劉德立) on Tuesday summoned El Salvador's ambassador to Taiwan to lodge a protest over her country's decision to change allegiance to Beijing.

In a brief meeting with Liu, ambassador Marta Chang de Tsien (錢曾愛珠) promised to relay Taiwan's protest to her government, while pledging to negotiate a deadline on when the two sides need to complete the shutdown of the embassies in their respective countries, according to a MOFA statement.

Chang expressed regret over her government's decision, according to a diplomatic official who was present during the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity.

She also insisted that she was not aware of the decision until around 10 a.m. Tuesday when she received word of the situation from her government, the official said.

Chang, who has been posted in Taipei since 2010, is a second-generation ethnic Chinese in El Salvador. Chang's husband, Tsien Lo-shen (錢樂生), serves as a senior advisor to the ROC Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, according to MOFA.

Taiwan moved pre-emptively Tuesday morning to declare an end to diplomatic relations with the Central American country after sensing that El Salvador was about to announce the severing of ties with Taiwan.

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said the breaking point was Taiwan's refusal to provide an "astronomical" amount of financial support to help El Salvador develop one of its ports.

In a nationally televised speech, El Salvador President Salvador Sanchez Ceren later announced his country was ending ties with Taiwan and would establish full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

(By Joseph Yeh)
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