Malawi may sign a memorandum of understanding with China that could endanger the African nation's diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the island's foreign ministry said.
``We've heard China has offered an extremely high amount of money trying to win ties with Malawi, although when we checked with our Malawi counterparts they denied they will sever ties with us,'' Phoebe Yeh, a spokeswoman for Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a phone interview in Taipei today. ``We'll try all we can to keep the diplomatic ties.''
Two Malawian ministers are planning to fly to Beijing today to sign a memorandum of understanding with China that will pay way for the establishment of diplomatic missions by the two countries, the Taipei-based Taiwan News said today, citing a Dec. 22 report in Malawi's Nyasa Times newspaper.
Taiwan said on June 7 it would sever ties with Costa Rica, which has formally recognized China. Costa Rica was the eighth country to break ties with Taiwan since President Chen Shui-bian took office in May 2000, after Macedonia, Liberia, Dominica, Vanuatu, Grenada, Senegal and Chad. In April, the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia broke ties with China and recognized Taiwan.
Taiwan has been battling for recognition since it split with China at the end of a civil war in 1949. Most nations don't recognize the administration in Taipei and instead have diplomatic relations with China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory.
To contact the reporters on this story: James Peng in Taipei at jpeng7@bloomberg.net ;
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