The central African country of Chad is reported to have severed
diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and switch its recognition and
open official ties with China, the news.com.au reported.
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"Under Beijing's influence, Chad has decided to restore
diplomatic ties with China," Taiwan's "foreign ministry" spokesman
Michel Lu told a press conference Saturday night.
"To safeguard our dignity, Taiwan government has decided to cut
off diplomatic ties with Chad and immediately suspended all of the
aid projects to the country," Lu said.
Taiwan's "ambassador" to Chad was called into the foreign
ministry in N'Djamena Saturday and informed that the government had
decided to switch recognition "in the interest of the state," a
Chadian foreign ministry official said.
Official announcements of the move should be made simultaneously
Sunday in N'Djamena and Beijing, where Chadian Foreign Minister
Ahmat Allami is currently visiting.
Following Taiwan's 1971 expulsion from the United Nations,
successive Taiwanese regimes have spent millions of dollars in
economic aid to persuade countries, mostly in Africa and Latin
America, to support its battle against Beijing for international
recognition.
As Beijing's global political and economic clout has grown,
Taiwan has found it increasingly on the losing side of the
diplomatic battle.
Chad is the seventh country to switch recognition to Beijing
since Taiwanese leader Chen Shui-bian took office in 2000,
following Senegal, Liberia, Macedonia, the Commonwealth of
Dominica, Vanuatu and Grenada.
This latest setback for Taiwan means the island is now
recognized by just 24 countries, mostly small states in Africa,
Latin America and the Pacific.
Chad's move came only days before Taiwan "Premier" Su
Tseng-chang was due to attend the inauguration of Idriss Deby for a
third term as president. The trip has now been cancelled.
(China Daily August 6, 2006)