30.04.2023
Paraguay holds presidential elections on Sunday. As Taiwan’s only remaining diplomatic ally in South America, if the opposition is elected, whether it will “diplomatically turn” away from Taiwan and switch to China has become the focus of attention from all walks of life.
(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) This Sunday (April 30), the South American country Paraguay will hold a presidential election, which may be the most serious challenge for the long-term ruling conservative Red Party (Colorado Party). The South American country’s nearly 70-year diplomatic relationship with Taiwan could also be upended.
Paraguay, with a population of about 7.5 million, began voting at 7 a.m. on Sunday. The ruling party candidate, economist Santiago Pena, and the main opposition candidate, lawyer Efrain Alegre, are the most vocal in this election.
Since the 1950s, the Red Party has dominated Paraguay’s political arena, and has not been in power for only 5 years in 75 years. But a slowing economy and corruption scandals are posing serious challenges to his ruling status.
Paraguay’s opposition candidate (Efrain Alegre, left) and ruling party candidate Santiago Pena (Santiago Pena) are the most popular in this general election
Paraguay is one of only 13 countries with which Taiwan currently has diplomatic relations. In this election, the two leading candidates are at odds over Paraguay’s relationship with Taiwan. Aire Gray criticized diplomatic relations with Taiwan for making it difficult for Paraguay to sell soybeans and beef to China, a major global buyer, and believed that Paraguay, whose economic activity is dominated by agriculture, did not receive enough returns from Taiwan.
“Paraguay has worked very hard and sacrificed a lot to establish relations with Taiwan, but we have not seen the same effort from Taiwan.”
Aire Gray previously stated that if elected, he would re-examine diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
On the other hand, Panya stated that it will maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Online Report |
25.04.2023
China considers self-governing democratic Taiwan part of its territory and has vowed to annex it by force if necessary. The Taipei government rejects Beijing’s claims, insisting that Taiwan is already a de facto sovereign state.
Beijing has often poached Taipei’s diplomatic allies with promises of increased trade, loans and investment. Losing Paraguay, the largest of the countries that still recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state, would mean Taiwan no longer has diplomatic allies in South America.
The main concerns of the Paraguayan elections include the economy, corruption allegations, and social issues. Reflects the everyday concerns of the general population. Voters generally called for improvements to jobs, safety and health care, among other issues.
Paraguay to hold presidential election on April 30
During the election campaign, Alligray took aim at the leader of the Red Party, former President Horacio Cartes, who was sanctioned by the United States for corruption, but the latter denied the corruption allegations.
Nearly 5 million people are registered to vote on Sunday, according to Reuters. Preliminary results are expected at 7 p.m. local time on Sunday.
(Reuters, AFP)
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