Central American Parliament Expels Taiwan as Observer, Replaces With China

The Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) expelled Taiwan as observer and replaced it with the People’s Republic of China, after having maintained Taiwan as a permanent observer for more than two decades.

On Monday, August 21, PARLACEN voted 5-1 in favor of expelling Taiwan as an observer and inviting China to take its place. The only PARLACEN member that voted for Taiwan was Guatemala, which is the only Central American country that still recognizes Taiwan as a sovereign state.

The representatives of the six member states of the bloc met in Managua, capital of Nicaragua, and proposed welcoming China as a partner, whose growing economic influence in Latin America has displaced Taipei. Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and the Dominican Republic voted in favor of China, while Guatemala voted against the proposal.

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In response, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement announcing its immediate withdrawal from PARLACEN in order to defend “national dignity.” It also condemned “China’s efforts to suppress Taiwan’s international participation.”

Taiwan has been a rebellious territory of the People’s Republic of China since 1945. It is not even recognized by the United Nations (UN) as an official member state since 1971. It has survived for several decades due the support of the United States and Japan and it is the beachhead of Washington’s new cold war against China.

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PARLACEN, in its statement, endorsed the expulsion of Taiwan by the United Nations in 1971 in favor of China, arguing that the island is a “province of mainland China, which disqualifies it from participating as an independent country.”

Meanwhile, far-right US Senators Tim Kaine (Democrat) and Marco Rubio (Republican), who head the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, condemned the vote, accusing China of undermining democracy in the United States’ “zone of influence.”

 

 

(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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