Paraguay |
Taiwan |
Republic of China-Paraguay relations are foreign relations between Paraguay and the Republic of China, commonly known as "Taiwan". Both governments established diplomatic relations on July 8, 1957. Paraguay is one of the 23 countries in the world (and the only one in South America) to recognize the Republic of China instead of the People's Republic of China as the sole and legitimate government of China (including Taiwan). Although not a particularly large country in absolute terms, Paraguay presently is the largest country maintaining official diplomatic relations with ROC.
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Paraguay has an embassy in Taipei. The Republic of China has an embassy in Asuncion and a Consulates-General in Ciudad del Este.
The governments of Paraguay and Republic of China established diplomatic relations on July 8, 1957. Over the following decades, the two governments signed the Cultural Connvention (1961), Treaty of Friendship (1968), and Conventions of Tourism and Investments (1975).[1] [2]
The partnership between the anti-communist governments of General Alfredo Stroessner and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was quite natural. Many Paraguayan officers went for training in Fu Hsing Kang College in Taiwan.[3]
The ouster of Stroessner in 1989, and his successor Andrés Rodríguez's reinventing himself as a democratically elected president, were immediately followed by invitations from the People's Republic of China to switch diplomatic recognition.[4] However, the experienced general and politician Wang Sheng who happened to serve as Taiwan's ambassador at the time, and his diplomatic staff, were able to convince the Paraguayans that continuing the relationship with ROC, and thus keeping Taiwan's development assistance and access to Taiwan's markets, would be more advantageous for Paraguay. As the ROC Commercial Attaché at Asunción, Tseng Cheng-te, explained later, "I tried constantly to figure out what we could buy from them. It was very difficult, because they have nothing to offer".[4]
Taiwan provided assistance to Paraguay on a number of economic development projects throughout the 1990s,[2] and has extended large loans to Paraguay; as of the early 2009, Taiwan's government was offering payment deferral on a $400 million outstanding loan.[5]
Traditionally, Paraguayan diplomats at the United Nations backed regular proposals at the UN General Assembly sessions for the return of the Republic of China into the United Nations' Organization.[6] However, in the fall of 2008, the recently elected Paraguyan president Fernando Lugo (whose inauguration, just a few days previously, had been attended by Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou[7]) announced that his country won't do it at the 63rd annuals session of the General Assembly.[8]
In 2004, Taiwan and Paraguay attempted to negotiate a free trade agreement,[9] but having to obtain approval from Paraguay's MERCOSUR's partners (none of which has diplomatic relations with R.O.C.) made the process difficult.[7][10] As of April 2009, the proposed treaty was still described as being negotiated.[11]
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