Taiwan Denies Purchase of Bonds from Ortega’s Dictatorship

October 27, 2018

Ambassador assures that no entity of his government has negotiated to buy them.

“I can’t speak for the private sector, but on behalf of the Government there is nothing of that,” he stated.

HAVANA TIMES – The Ambassador of Taiwan in Managua, Jaime Wu, denied that the diplomatic legation under his leadership or any other agency of the Government of Taiwan, has held talks with the Government of Nicaragua to buy the equivalent of more than 280 million dollars in Bonds of the Republic.

This Friday, Confidencial published, based on two diplomatic sources that had access to high Nicaraguan government authorities, that Taiwan would buy the 9.035 billion Cordobas in bonds issued to cover the fall in government revenues, which occurred during the economic crisis caused by the political crisis over the last six months.

“Nothing. There is nothing, nothing of that. If there were something, I would not had accepted your interview; but, if I accept it, it is because I want to clarify this,” Wu said.

The diplomat denied “flatly” that a request existed from the Nicaraguan Government for Taiwan to buy these bonds. He assured that he had no knowledge of any other entity of the Taiwanese State, or any private financial corporation from his country that had participated in talks to buy them.

In the first three days of the week, senior government officials linked to the economy revealed to diplomatic and business sources that they were closing a transaction for the sale of a large amount of bonds, with several buyers and among them included the Government of Taiwan. However, Ambassador Wu denies that the Government had made a request to Taiwan for the purchase of those Bonds.

“I can’t speak for the private sector, but on behalf of the Government…there is nothing of that. I can say it sincerely because Taiwan’s cooperation has always been maintained. So it was during the Governments of Chamorro, Aleman, Bolanos…we have always maintained our cooperation projects, above all, technical cooperation,” he emphasized.

“Nicaragua has maintained good relations with Taiwan over the years. You know that we have difficulties in the international community, and that is why we need friends to support us,” he explained.

In the last few years, the Republic of China in Taiwan (whose territory is the island of Formosa, which is considered by the mainland Government of China as a rebel province), has lost the support of several nations of the twenty or so that recognized them and not their giant neighbor.

Only eight countries in the American hemisphere recognize Taiwan: Paraguay, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Caribbean Islands of Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia. In August of this year, El Salvador dealt a strong blow to Taiwan’s diplomacy when it broke relations to establish them with the People’s Republic of China. Immediately, Taiwan rewarded the loyalty of the Ortega regime, transferring six projects that it had in El Salvador for an amount of 2.9 million dollars.

In spite of everything, the diplomat rejected the possibility that they had been forced to provide support to the Ortega regime, reminding that such a financial decision would be easily detectable.

“Taiwan’s international cooperation remains unchanged. The amounts remain the same, without any abrupt increases. That always remains along those lines,” he said.

When he enumerated the amounts and areas to which Taiwanese cooperation in Nicaragua is destined, Ambassador Wu said that the bilateral program contemplates 10 million dollars annually, for five years, for a total of 50 million.

“Last year we signed a cooperation agreement. Apart from that, there are many projects that cannot be quantified. The technical cooperation is separate, but I think that in those five years, that fund from Taiwan and from Nicaragua, has about 15 million (dollars) for four projects in five years,” he explained.

He also recalled that the Government of his country has just donated $100,000 dollars to Managua City Hall, explaining that “we work here without any other intention. Taiwan always supports Nicaragua unconditionally. The projects are focused on the people. The $100,000 dollar donation is questioned, but they are to build 46 low cost houses,” he argued.

Wu said that he had not planned to meet with the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that is visiting Nicaragua.

The diplomat refused to answer what considerations the State of Taiwan would have to evaluate an eventual request of resources by the Government of Nicaragua, because “it is a hypothetical question.”

“The purchase of bonds is normal, questioning the Government of Nicaragua’s violations of human rights is an internal affair, and I do not want to refer to that. In any country there are always people who oppose the government, and people who support the government, so, as an embassy, we cannot comment on that, it is an internal matter,” he reiterated.

“A diplomat cannot lie. If something is happening, the most you can do is not to confirm it, but we categorically deny that news: there is no purchase of bonds, no conversations, not even a request from the Government of Nicaragua for us to buy them,” he said.