President, premier laud Taiwan's diplomatic achievements

Taipei, Jan. 1 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih lauded Taiwan's diplomatic achievements on New Year's Day, saying that the government's policy of flexible diplomacy has won Taiwan the respect of the international community.

"You don't often see a country with as few diplomatic allies as Taiwan -- we have only 23 -- being so active and energetic internationally, " the president said at an exhibition organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Taipei Guest House.

Ma cited the increase in the number of countries or regions granting Taiwan visa-waiver privileges since he took office in May 2008 -- from 53 to 96 -- as an example of the country's diplomatic advances.

He attributed the increase not only to those countries' respect and trust of Taiwanese passport holders but also to recognition of Taiwan's efforts in relaxing cross-Taiwan Strait tensions.

Taiwan's pragmatism and flexible approach in its diplomacy has won praise around the world and stopped a diplomatic war with China to entice each other's allies -- often with cash -- to change their allegiances.

Taiwan has also repeatedly shown that it could contribute to the international community, evidenced by the humanitarian relief effort after its Caribbean ally of Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake last January, Ma said.

He also lauded the charitable works abroad of such nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as the well-known Tsu Chi Foundation, World Vision Taiwan, and Taiwan Foundation for Children and Families.

These efforts have demonstrated the soft power that Taiwan has been able to utilize in participating in the international community, he said.

Ma acknowledged, however, the importance of regular diplomacy, saying that he still remembered how "uncomfortable" he felt as a New York University law student in the mid-1970s when he first read about the United States Court for China, which existed from 1906 to 1943 and had extraterritorial jurisdiction over U.S. citizens in China.

Speaking at the same occasion, Premier Wu highlighted the European Union (EU) visa-waiver program, which is scheduled to take effect Jan. 11 and give Taiwanese passport holders visa-free exemption to 35 European countries.

He described it as one of the most important diplomatic achievements of the past year and as a signal that the EU "completely respects, trusts and accepts the 23 million people of Taiwan."

Wu said Taiwan's diplomatic achievements were reflected by two numbers: inbound arrivals surpassed 5 million for the first time ever in a single year in 2010 and the growth rate of cargo and passenger volume at Taoyuan International Airport in 2010 both ranked ahead of those of the other Asian Tigers -- Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls

Taiwan announces Haiti debt relief plan

Taipei, May 28 (CNA) Taiwan will pay about US$12-13 million in interest on loans to Haiti and the quake-ravaged country will not have to make any payments on the principal for five years, Taiwan's foreign minister said Friday ahead of a June 2 global Haiti aid summit in the Dominican Republic.

The Haitian government has been informed of the relief and it has expressed its appreciation, Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy C.T. Yang added.

Yang declined to comment on the amount of the loan, but speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior official said Taiwan's loans to Haiti amount to about US$88 million. The magazine Foreign Policy and the Guardian newspaper both reported on their Web sites that Haiti owes Taiwan US$91 million.

"Every country faces different situations, and Taiwan is not able to simply write off the debts, " Yang said.

He said the interest relief was the best Taiwan can offer because the creditors are local banks rather than the government.

Yang said a delegation, headed by Council of Agriculture Chairman Chen Wu-hsiung and including representatives from the Department of Health and the International Cooperation and Development Fund, will announce the measure and detail Taiwan's assistance plans at the summit.

The Paris Club, an informal group of financial officials from 19 of the world's richest countries that provides financial services to indebted countries and their creditors, called on Taiwan in January to offer debt relief after a magnitude-7 earthquake devastated Haiti.

Observers have said Taiwan's national credit is so high that it has to carefully contemplate debt relief to foreign countries because of a possible domino effect, fearing that other debtors of Taiwan will request debt relief if Taiwan agrees to offer relief to Haiti.

The Economist magazine has estimated that Taiwan's national debt is expected to reach US$137.4 billion, equivalent to 39 percent of its gross national product, in 2010, and the Ministry of Finance estimated last September that the national debt will surpass US$43.9 billion in 2010. (By Chris Wang) enditem/bc

Taiwan contemplating Haiti debt relief decision

Taipei, Jan. 20 (CNA) Taiwan is still studying how to offer its Caribbean ally Haiti debt relief or cancellation and will keep sending medical teams to help the quake-ravaged country, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman said Wednesday.

The ministry is studying whether and how to offer debt consolidation, debt relief or debt cancellation to Haiti, but has not come up with any timetable, said MOFA spokesman James Chang.

President Ma Ying-jeou responded a day earlier to a call from the Paris Club to all Haiti's creditors to forgive its debts following a magnitude-7 earthquake that devastated the country last week, asking MOFA to study how to help Haiti.

However, he noted that the creditors of debts Haiti owes to Taiwan are local banks rather than the government.

The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of the world's richest countries that provides financial services to indebted countries and their creditors. Debtors are often recommended by the International Monetary Fund after alternative solutions have failed.

A report from British newspaper the Guardian commented that Taiwan and Venezuela -- Haiti's main bilateral creditors -- have come under "intensifying pressure" to cancel the impoverished country's debts.

The magazine Foreign Policy and the Guardian both reported on their Web sites that Haiti owes US$167 million to Venezuela and US$91 million to Taiwan. The MOFA declined to confirm either report.

The Paris Club said Haiti's public external debt totaled US$1.885 billion at the end of September 2008.

Observers said Taiwan's national credit is so high that it has to carefully contemplate debt relief to foreign countries. They also mentioned a possible domino effect, fearing that other debtors of Taiwan will request debt relief if Taiwan agrees to offer debt relief to Haiti.

The Economist magazine has estimated that Taiwan's national debt is expected to reach US$137.4 billion, equivalent to 39 percent of its gross national product, in 2010, and the Ministry of Finance estimated last September that the national debt will surpass US$43.9 billion in 2010.

Meanwhile, Taiwan will keep sending teams to help with post-disaster work, Chang said. At present, there are two local medical teams -- a 33-member team from the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China and a 60-member team from the Taiwanroot Medical Peace Corps -- in Haiti.

A team of 16 members from Taiwan's International Health Action and the Ministry of National Defense is also scheduled to leave for Haiti Jan. 26.

The non-profit International Cooperation and Development Fund will also send a medical team Feb. 6, Chang went on.

Meanwhile, a search and rescue team that rescued two men in Haiti is scheduled to arrive home in Taipei Jan. 22.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has sent a letter praising Taiwan's relief efforts, saying that the teams "have been doing a great job, " Chang said.

Paris Club seeks help from Taiwan to cancel Haiti's debt

Taipei, Jan. 18 (CNA) The Paris Club has approached Taiwan for help in canceling Haiti's international debt after the Caribbean country was ravaged by a magnitude 7 earthquake last week, sources familiar with the case told the Central News Agency Monday.

France, which chairs the group of financial officials from 19 wealthy countries that provides services such as debt relief and debt cancellation to indebted countries, has contacted Taiwan about the matter, sources said, noting that the debt that Haiti owes to Taiwan is usually donations in the forms of various collaboration programs.

According to a media report, Christine Lagarde, the French minister of economy, industry and employment, said last Friday she has contacted members of the Paris Club to discuss speeding up debt relief for Haiti.

Lagarde said she was also asking Taiwan and Venezuela, non-Paris Club members but major creditors of Haiti, to help in the debt relief effort.

"I am asking two other states, Taiwan and Venezuela... to also envisage the cancellation of their debt to Haiti... as a collective effort. This would be a good step for this country," Lagarde said.

The club said on its Web site that it had decided to cancel US$62.73 million of the country's debt in July 2009, and is committed on a bilateral and voluntary basis to cancel an additional US$152 million.

A spokesman of Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) declined to comment on the report but said the government is planning to further review the contents and details of various bilateral cooperation programs with the Haitian government.

Civic groups and nongovernmental organizations in Taiwan have mobilized a donation effort that has collected 84 tons of relief meterial, including food, water, medical supplies and lighting equipment, worth over NT$12 million.

Seventy tons of these humanitarian supplies, the first shipment of Taiwan's nongovernmental relief supplies to Haiti, were scheduled to be shipped to Dominican Republic by a FedEx air cargo charter at 8:30 p.m. Monday.

On Sunday, Taiwan's first search and rescue team, which arrived in the disaster zone by land after being stuck in the Dominican Republic because of air traffic congestion in Port-au-Prince, successfully rescued a survivor on the second day of its operations.

The survivor was a Haitian security guard at the United Nations Peecekeeping Force's police dormitory who had been buried under the rubble for five days before being rescued.

Taiwan offers more donations to quake-struck Haiti

Taipei, Jan. 14 (CNA) The Taiwanese government has offered another US$300,000 donation to its Caribbean ally Haiti, which was hit by a magnitude-7.0 quake, and is trying to confirm the fate of a Taiwanese girl pronounced dead in the disaster, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Thursday.

Taiwan is offering the US$300,000 to add to the US$200,000 donation announced a day earlier shortly after the massive earthquake struck, said MOFA spokesman James Chang.

A government medical team and Taiwan International Health Action (IHA), a group of volunteer medical experts, were also set to leave for Haiti for medical relief and assistance, Chang said.

The girl, the daughter of a Taiwanese engineer working in Haiti, was reported to have been killed in the quake but the MOFA later found out that the information might have been incorrect.

Chang said the Republic of China Embassy staff had managed to get in touch with most of the other Taiwanese nationals known to be in Haiti, all of whom are safe and in good shape.

There are presently more than 30 Taiwanese nationals in Haiti, including embassy and technical mission staff, employees of Taiwan's Overseas Engineering and Construction Co. (OECC) and individual businessmen.

According to media reports, a Taiwanese backpacker was also reported to be missing and Chang said the MOFA is looking into the matter.

Taiwan offers funds, sends rescue team to quake-hit Haiti (roundup)

Taipei, Jan. 13 (CNA) The Taiwan government has offered an immediate donation of US$200,000 to Haiti and is sending a rescue team to the Caribbean country that was hit Tuesday by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Wednesday.

A rescue team from the National Fire Agency (NFA), which consists of 23 workers and two search and rescue dogs, will take an 11: 40 p.m. China Airlines flight to Haiti via Los Angeles, Miami and the Dominican Republic, carrying 2,000 kilograms of equipment, the MOFA said in a press release.

The Taiwan government is closely monitoring the situation and will offer more donations, humanitarian aid and rescue squads to its ally if necessary, the MOFA said.

Taiwan's ambassador to Haiti was injured but was in stable condition and one Taiwanese businessman was unaccounted for after the quake hit Haiti, MOFA spokesman James Chang said.

Hsu Mien-sheng, Taiwan's ambassador to the Caribbean country, sustained a broken bone, and an embassy employee suffered a minor back injury but was in good condition, Chang said. All Taiwan nationals in Haiti are safe except for the businessman who was reported missing, he added.

With communications erratic in some regions, the MOFA is still trying to get in touch with the missing businessman, he said.

Chang said Wednesday afternoon that an inter-agency task force has been set up to coordinate relief and rescue efforts, as the Taiwan government planned to send rescue teams and humanitarian supplies to Haiti as soon as possible.

President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih have extended condolences to victims of the earthquake, Chang said.

There are currently around 30 Taiwanese nationals in Haiti, including four or five businessmen, 13 members of a technical mission and diplomats, Chang said.

The two-story building of Taiwan's embassy in Port-au-Prince was partially damaged in the quake, he added.

Mario Chouloute, Haiti's ambassador to Taiwan, told the media that Haiti is looking to Taiwan's for assistance with camping equipment, rescue teams and medical services.

The MOFA has requested Taiwan's embassy in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti, to obtain information on the damage and offer as much assistance as possible, Chang said.

Officials at the Taipei City Fire Department said that a rescue team from the city is ready to depart for Haiti whenever necessary.

Meanwhile, the MOFA is coordinating a collaborative rescue effort with several non-governmental organizations, including World Vision Taiwan, the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation and Dharmaa Drum Mountain Foundation.

World Vision Taiwan, which currently provides aid to 7,500 children in four regional programs in Haiti, said it is still gathering information on damage and casualties and is in close contact with the MOFA, the Red Cross Society and World Vision Haiti.

The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation said that Tzu Chi's U.S.

headquarters has set up an emergency coordination center to respond to the needs in Haiti. A meeting will be held Thursday with other humanitarian organizations to discuss how to collaborate to provide aid.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake that hit the Caribbean country at 4: 53 p.m. local time Tuesday had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 15 kilometers west of Port-au-Prince at a depth of only eight kilometers.

Amb. injured, one Taiwanese unaccounted for in quake-hit Haiti

Taipei, Jan. 13 (CNA) Taiwan's ambassador to Haiti was injured but was in stable condition and one Taiwanese businessman was unaccounted for after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman said Wednesday.

Hsu Mien-sheng, Taiwan's ambassador to the Caribbean country, sustained a broken bone and an embassy employee suffered a minor back injury, but was in good condition while all Taiwan nationals in Haiti are safe except for one businessman who was reported missing, said MOFA spokesman James Chang.

Chang said an inter-agency task force has been established to coordinate rescue effort and donations as Taiwan's government plans to send out rescue teams and humanitarian supplies as soon as possible, with the first rescue team scheduled to leave for Haiti Wednesday night.

President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih extended condolences to victims in the Caribbean ally, Chang said.

There are currently around 30 Taiwanese nationals in Haiti, including four or five businessmen, 13 members of a technical mission and diplomats, Chang said.

With communications erratic in some regions, the MOFA is still trying to get in touch with the missing businessman, he said.

The two-story building of Taiwan's Embassy in Port-au-Prince collapsed in the quake, he added.

Mario Chouloute, Haiti's Ambassador to Taiwan, told the media that Haiti is looking for Taiwan's help to provide camping equipment, rescue teams and medical assistance.

MOFA has requested Taiwan's Embassy in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti, collect information on damage and offer as much assistance as possible, Chang said.

Officials at the Taipei City Fire Department said that a rescue team from the city is ready to depart for Haiti whenever necessary to help with earthquake response efforts.

Meanwhile, World Vision Taiwan, a non-governmental organization currently providing aid for 7,500 children in four regional programs in Haiti, said it is still gathering information of damage and casualty and is in close contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Red Cross Society and World Vision Haiti.