Guatemalan president calls for support for Taiwan amid Chinese threat
ROC Central News Agency
04/25/2023 03:15 PM
Taipei, April 25 (CNA) The international community should support Taiwan in the face of threats from China, visiting Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei told Taiwan's Legislature on Tuesday.
Giammattei, in a speech that made him the first head of state to address the Legislative Yuan in 13 years, called on the international community and "the free world" to rally in support of Taiwan, which he said had long faced threats from across the Taiwan Strait.
Guatemala's position has been to recognize and support the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan's official name, as an independent country, Giammattei said.
The Guatemalan leader also underscored what he described as the importance of the international community respecting Taiwan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The 67-year-old president added that his current visit at the head of an official delegation was a testament to Guatemala's opposition to "foreign aggression."
Giammattei's visit to Taiwan comes just weeks after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) traveled to Guatemala as part of her 10-day overseas trip, and one month after another Central American nation, Honduras, switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
Honduras' severing of ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing, the ninth country to do so since Tsai took office in 2016, means that only 13 states now maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Giammattei said that while other countries had placed interests above friendship and changed allegiances, Guatemala, which established diplomatic relations with the ROC in 1933, remained committed to Taiwan.
Describing Taiwan as a longstanding strategic partner of Guatemala, Giammattei pledged to continue promoting the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
He also expressed gratitude for the government of Taiwan's financial support for Guatemala over the years, including an estimated US$90 million in aid between 2013 and 2021, as well as scholarships given to Guatemalan youths to study in Taiwan.
His speech, which was met with a standing ovation from lawmakers across party lines, was praised by Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) as "significant" at a time when "the expansion of authoritarianism has shrunk the space for democracies" in the world.
You also conferred an honorary medal on Giammattei in recognition of his contributions to "the promotion of friendship and cooperation between Taiwan and Guatemala."
The Guatemalan president arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a four-day visit that includes meetings with government officials, Guatemalan students, and representatives from Taiwanese companies present in the Central American nation.
The Guatemalan delegation also includes Congressional President Shirley Joanna Rivera Zaldaña, Foreign Minister Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores, and Minister of the Economy Janio Moacyr Rosales Alegría, among others.
On Tuesday morning, Giammattei was welcomed by Tsai with a military salute at the Presidential Office, and the two were also scheduled to have a bilateral talk later in the afternoon.
(By Teng Pei-ju)
Enditem/ASG
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