Nicaragua asks Taiwan
for US$400 million in
investment
Nicaragua has asked
Taiwan, which seeking to
bolster its diplomatic
alliances, for US$400
million (euro293
million) in investments
over the next four
years.
Nicaraguan Vice
President Jaime Morales
said Monday the request
was made to Taiwanese
President Chen Shui-bian,
who is on a two-day
visit to Nicaragua, part
of a tour through
Central America intended
to strengthen Taiwan's
ties with the region.
The money would be used
for renewable energy
projects,
infrastructure, health
and education, Morales
said.
Nicaraguan President
Daniel Ortega said
Chen's visit represented
the beginning of a "new
era'' of relations
between Taiwan and
Nicaragua.
Nicaragua and Taiwan
established diplomatic
relations more than 30
years ago but they were
broken from 1979-1990,
when the leftist
Sandinista government
headed by Ortega
established ties with
China.
President Violeta
Chamorro, who defeated
Ortega in the 1990
presidential election,
re-established relations
with Taiwan shortly
after taking office.
Ortega returned to power
in January. In May he
re-established formal
diplomatic ties with
North Korea, and many
speculate that he might
favor relations with
China over Taiwan.
Self-governing Taiwan
and communist China
split amid civil war in
1949 and China insists
that the island remains
a part of its territory.
In the battle to win the
diplomatic allegiance of
countries around the
world, the two sides
routinely offer generous
grants and other
inducements.
In June, neighboring
Costa Rica switched its
diplomatic relations to
China, and President
Oscar Arias accused
Taiwan of being stingy
with aid. Arias warned
that unless Taiwan dug
deep into its pockets,
it would lose more
allies.
Taiwan has 24 formal
diplomatic allies
throughout the world,
most of them small,
developing nations in
Latin America and
Africa.
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