The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Millions of Dollars Feed Taiwanese
Diplomacy in Central America
By Oscar Núñez Olivas
AFP

Donations and credits constitute the base of Taiwanese diplomacy in Central America , but recent accusations and corruption scandals throughout the isthmus indicate that bribery also plays an important role in the foreign policy of the Asian nation.

Taipei 's contributions to Central America soared into the hundreds of millions of dollars in the last ten years, and they are directed at a variety of projects, such as construction, political campaigns, the electricity grid, assistance programs for small and medium-sized businesses, and others.

According to the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry, Taiwan contributed $132.6 million to Central American integration entities in the 1992-2003 period.

But Taiwan has also provided bi-lateral financial assistance (both loans and donations) to each Central American country, both to the public and private sectors for amounts that in many cases are not revealed, which makes taking inventory difficult.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Taiwan has contributed $112 million to finance “a broad range of projects,” in the country.

In Nicaragua , Taiwan 's financial cooperation topped $318 million from 1991-2000, and in El Salvador Taiwanese donations reached $38 million in the past five years, according to official sources.

The government of Taiwan gave $45 million for the construction of a hospital in Panama and awarded a loan of $6 million to build the President's headquarters, the Casa Presidencial, in Honduras . Also, Ex-President of Honduras , Carlos Flores (1998-2002) traveled in a helicopter donated by Taiwan .

Central American nations are among the 26 in the world that recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan , a country of 23 million people that the People's Republic of China considers a rebel province.

Subjected to strong pressure from Beijing , which seeks to politically isolate the island, Taiwan uses some of its abundant economic resources to guarantee diplomatic recognition as a state that is separate from China .

However, Taiwanese donations have been at the center of recent corruption scandals in several Central American countries.

In Costa Rica , the Prosecutor's Office is investigating the transfers of $400,000 from the government of Taipei to Ex-President Miguel Ángel Rodriguez (1998-2002), currently serving a preventive prison sentence under suspicion of accepting bribes from the transnational telecom company Alcatel.

Though Rodríguez claims the money he received was a loan, the Taiwanese embassy in San José said it was donated to a private foundation managed by Rodríguez to carry out training seminars.

Rodríguez received other contributions totaling $1 million from companies of alleged Taiwanese origin, the existence of which has not been confirmed, and for reasons that have not been divulged.

Also, it recently came to light that a foundation directed by Ex-President Oscar Arias received $1.3 million from the Taiwanese government in donations that some Costa Rican political groups demand deserve an investigation.

In October, Taiwanese legislators accused Ex-President Chen Shui-bian of giving $1 million to Panamanian Ex-President Mireya Moscoso, a fact that both parties denied.

Regardless, the Panamanian Prosecutor's Office is investigating the use of a Taiwanese donation of $45 million, managed by three private foundations, for the construction of a hospital in the capital, a museum and the remodeling of several public buildings.

In Nicaragua , transfers of $1.5 million from Taiwanese businesses to Ex-President Arnoldo Alemán are under investigation. They occurred through private foundations that Alemán, now serving time for corruption, had established in Panama.