Row erupts in Guyana over politician's visit to Taiwan
Thursday, August 5, 2004
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AFP): A visit to Taiwan
by Guyana's opposition leader Robert Corbin has sparked a political row in
this South American country, which has diplomatic relations with Beijing and
not Taipei. Guyana's governing People's
Progressive Party and the Chinese embassy here condemned Corbin's private
visit to Taipei last month, saying it violated the opposition party's stated
policy of adhering to Beijing's one-China principle, which states there is
only one China, and that Taiwan is part of China.
The ruling party accused the opposition People's National Congress leader of
visiting Taiwan to "raise funds to continue their destabilization efforts in
Guyana and for the elections" and called on Corbin to disclose who paid for
his trip to Taipei and how much money he received.
"The PNC has always been extremely unprincipled. This is a demonstration that
most important is their self interest. It shows that that party is ready to
act against the national interest of Guyana for a few dollars," the ruling
party said in a statement. Chinese embassy
spokesman Zhou Xing disputed Corbin's defense of his trip as a private visit
to observe Taiwan's economic progress. "We
are very concerned with Mr Corbin's visit to Taiwan... His identity can't be
changed by simple words like 'private' visit," the spokesman said.
China praised the Guyana government for consistently supporting its one-China
policy. But Corbin said his party would "not
be bullied or dictated to" by anyone, calling it "inappropriate" for China to
determine where he should travel in his personal capacity.
China considers Taiwan a renegade province.
Only a handful of countries officially recognize Taiwan, most of them in the
Caribbean and Central America.
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