TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China has stepped up its efforts to snatch away Taiwan's remaining diplomatic allies, said Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Wednesday (Oct. 26)
The foreign ministry has received intelligence suggesting the possibility of allies switching recognition to Beijing. The warning follows the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Wu said at a legislative briefing.
China’s efforts to lure Taiwan’s allies will likely ramp up after the twice-a-decade CCP congress, Wu said. At the meeting the CCP added “resolutely opposing and deterring” Taiwan’s independence to its constitution.
Wu declined to name the countries being picked off by Beijing, adding efforts are being made to beef up Taiwan’s diplomatic ties, wrote CNA.
Beijing has taken eight Taiwanese allies since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) assumed power in 2016, leaving only 14 countries that recognize Taiwan diplomatically. They include Sao Tome and Príncipe and Burkina Faso in Africa; the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean; Panama, El Salvador, and Nicaragua in Central America; as well as the Solomon Islands and Kiribati in the Pacific.