Taiwan says China seeks to influence island's elections by wooing away its allies

China is stepping up efforts to woo away Taiwan's diplomatic allies in an attempt to hurt President Chen Shui-bian's ruling party ahead of crucial elections, the island's top diplomat said Tuesday.

The accusation by Foreign Minister James Huang came just four days ahead of elections to choose a new Legislature for this island of 23 million people. That poll will be followed by elections in March to select Chen's successor.

Last week, Huang had to abort a planned visit to the African nation of Malawi to shore up diplomatic support because the country refused to receive him. That visit was planned after two senior Malawian ministers visited Beijing in what Taiwan feared was a prelude to the establishment of formal ties between Malawi and China.

Taiwanese officials also fear the Marshall Islands could switch recognition to Beijing after a pro-China president was elected there earlier this week.

However, Huang told reporters that Taiwanese diplomats are prepared to deal with "an election crisis" resulting from China's using generous aid packages to woo the island's 24 allies.

"China is now doing all it can to disrupt Taiwan-Malawi ties in order to crush our morale," he said.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949. Beijing deeply distrusts Chen and believes his party is seeking to formalize the island's de facto independence, an act it has threatened to meet with war.

During Taiwan's first popular presidential election in 1996, China staged war games near the island's waters in an attempt to warn Taiwanese voters against electing a pro-independence leader.

But Beijing has since toned down its sabre-rattling ahead of crucial Taiwanese elections, fearing provocative actions could alienate voters.

Leaders of the DPP, however, have played up China's political and military threats, hoping it would make the party's pro-independence stance more appealing to voters.

Chen has repeatedly warned voters the island could be forced into unification with China if the DPP loses the elections to the main opposition Nationalist Party.

The DPP accuses the Nationalists of adopting an over-friendly attitude toward Beijing.

In a related development, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it will closely monitor Chinese military deployments ahead of the March 22 presidential poll.

No irregular Chinese military moves have been detected so far, said Defense Ministry spokesman Yu Sy-tue.

Country Retain Swimming Champs

ZIMBABWE'S team of 39 swimmers eclipsed nine other countries to retain the African Swimming Confederation Zone 4 sub-Saharan championship in the Malawi capital Lilongwe on Saturday.

Fully justifying the faith of main sponsors Pizza Inn, in 130 events over three days, including relays, Zimbabwe's domination was underlined by its impressive haul of 128 medals - 47 Gold, 40 Silver and 41 Bronze.

South Africa's promising development team of 21 swimmers came second with 77 medals - 35 Gold, 26 Silver and 16 Bronze, followed by Zambia.

Hosts Malawi, with the largest team, showed great promise in winning 37 medals, including three gold.

Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, Namibia, Swaziland and Botswana were the other competing nations.

Of the 122 individual events, at the 25-metre short-course African Bible College pool, 14 Zimbabweans won 45 gold medals between them -- an astonishing 33 of them new meeting records in this fifth annual gala.

The list was headed by the pencil-slim 12-year-old James Lawson of Pirates Club, Harare, with a personal gold-haul of six in his 12 races.

The other gold winners were Nick James (5), Samantha Welch (5), Tarryn Rennie (5), Bree Catterall (4), Bronwyn Palmer (4), Maxine Heard (4), Drew Rosser (3), Sloane Marshall (2), Charlotte Wetzlar (2), Andrew Chance (2), Jason Dickinson, Levi Fargnoli and Shannon Taute.

Four of the 10 age-group individual aggregate trophies were also claimed by the super-charged Zimbabweans -- James Lawson (boys 12-and-under), Samantha Welch (girls 12-and-under), Maxine Heard (girls 15 & 16) and Bronwyn Palmer (17 & over).

The third and final day on Saturday started in persistent rain, often heavy, and ended with a dramatic storm that sent the swimmers scurrying before the end of the final presentations.

But this did not dampen the spirit and achievements of the swimmers, led throughout the gala by the exuberant Zambians who far outshone every other team with their feisty support for their swimmers.

On a sad day when her grandmother died, Maxine Heard (16), of Spartans Club, notched the first record of the third and final day for Zimbabwe by winning the 15 & 16 girls' 200 metres freestyle in 2min 17.07sec.

With superb style and a strong kick she edged ahead in the opening 50 metres and held off the challenge of South Africa's Lee Anne Kock.

Zimbabwe's Nick James contested several fierce challenges with the brilliant all-round Swazi, Luke Hall, and the 200 metres freestyle typified this rivalry.

They powered through the water neck-and-neck and turned together for the final 25 metres, the well-built James taking the verdict in a new meet record of 2min 02sec to eclipse Grant Behan's 2006 mark of 2:04.65.

James then added the 200 metres backstroke crown in a record 2min 15sec.

Diminutive Samantha Welch outclassed the field in the 200 metres freestyle for girls 12-and-under to clock 2min 26.46sec, but still outside fellow Zimbabwean Lulu Ward's 2004 record of 2min 23sec.

Later the blonde Welch added the 100 metres breaststroke gold medal in 1:21.75 to break this meet record by almost three seconds.

James Lawson (Pirates Club and St John's School) clinched his sixth and final gold in his specialist 100 metres breaststroke, winning in 1min 17.34sec to slice four seconds off the old mark. Zimbabwe's Dylan Rosser was second in 1:25.

Tall, tousle-haired Drew Rosser looked particularly classy and went out blazing in the 13 & 14 boys 100 metres breaststroke and stretched his lead from the start to win in a meet record 1:13.41.

Zimbabweans proved their prowess in the showpiece 50-metre sprints, winning five of the 10 races, four of them meet records.

It was the tall 17-year-old Michaelhouse student, Andrew Chance, who proved the supreme sprinter of the gala, powering to decisive victory and a record 23.65sec over Luke Hall (Swaziland) and Nick James, who also both broke the old record.

Tarryn Rennie again served notice of possible stardom ahead by winning five gold medals -- all in meet records -- for Zimbabwe, powering away from the pack in the 50 metres freestyle to take a full second off the record, clocking 29.17sec, with Samantha Welch third on 31.01sec.

Rennie also won two silver medals in the 200 individual medley and the 50m backstroke, both behind her greatest rival, Welch.

Tall Bree Catterall was another Zimbabwean to shine, winning all four of her events (three of them records) in the 10-and-under girls group.

Her 50 metres freestyle gold was a thriller against a talented Botswana swimmer, their times being 32.56 v 32.77.

Zimbabwe's girls captain, Bronwyn Palmer, led by example; her smooth, impressive style winning her four gold medals in the 17-and-over group -- 50m freestyle (28.45sec), 200m freestyle (2:15.88), 50m breaststroke (35.95) and 100m freestyle (1:01.00).

Taiwan-Marshall Islands ties remain same, MOFA insists

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday refuted a news report which said that Taiwan's Asia Pacific ally Marshall Islands is likely to end its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan after a new president is elected.

The report said that Litokwa Tomeing, the newly elected president of Marshall Islands, had beaten two-term former President Kessai Note by 18 votes 15 in a close election that was marked by controversy and recounts.

The report had pointed out Tomeing's victory in the election is likely to end the South Pacific nation's diplomatic ties with Taiwan, since Tomeing had previously vowed during the elections in November that his country should end diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and instead adhere to the "One-China" policy.

In reaction to the report, MOFA spokesperson Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said that her ministry was aware of Tomeing's remark and has communicated with him via Taiwan's ambassador stationed in Marshall Islands in light of his comment.

"Tomeing had reiterated many times that his administration will continue to maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan after he won the election," said Yeh.

She added that Tomeing's current party, the Ailin Kein Ad (Our Island) party was the ruling party when Taiwan established diplomatic ties with the nation in 1998.

Therefore, most of the members of the AKA party had expressed a consensus that the nation should continue to sustain relationship with Taiwan, disclosed Yeh.

Yeh, however, admitted that MOFA had learned through various channels before that the Chinese government had intended to interfere in the Marshall Islands' election by funneling a large amount of money through some local Taiwanese businessmen.

The MOFA will continue to observe the political situation in Marshall Islands, said Yeh.

After the Malawi incident, the Marshall Islands is the second country in the past month that had reportedly planned to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

A report in the "Nyasa Times" of Malawi on December 22, 2007 said that Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika had sanctioned severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of China.

Though Mutharika later had admitted that he had dispatched two senior Cabinet ministers to Beijing, he would not disclose whether if his country will officially announce establishing ties with China.

In the wake of the news, Huang was scheduled to fly to Malawi to consolidate diplomatic ties, but his trip was later canceled at the request of Malawian officials.

The MOFA labeled the last minute cancelation as "unusual."

The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is a Micronesian island nation in the western Pacific Ocean that achieved independence in 1986 after being administrated by the United States.

The country had established diplomatic ties with China in 1990, but relations between the both sides deteriorated and it finally severed its ties with China and establish diplomatic ties with Taiwan instead in 1998.

Taiwan says can't match $6 bln China aid to Malawi

Taiwan cannot match China's reported $6 billion aid offer to Malawi, but hopes a legacy of goodwill can convince the African nation not to switch allegiance to its giant neighbour, a government spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Taiwan is recognised by just 24, mostly small, impoverished countries, compared to 170 which recognise U.N. Security Council member China which seeks to isolate the island diplomatically.

China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and has vowed to bring the island back under mainland rule, by force if necessary.

The two sides use what has been called "chequebook diplomacy" to compete for allies among poor countries.

News reports in Malawi said China made the $6 billion aid offer, equivalent to almost three quarters of Malawi's 2006 GDP, in December, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh said.

"We'll do our best to increase development aid," Yeh said. "But we cannot compete with China like that."

The Malawi flap is Taiwan's worst diplomatic crisis since the island broke ties with long-time ally Costa Rica in June.

On Friday, Malawian leaders suddenly told the Taiwan foreign minister to cancel a scheduled visit. A Malawian foreign ministry official said later that the country would give diplomatic recognition to China but retain economic links with Taiwan.

The Malawi ambassador to Taiwan was unavailable for comment.

But Taiwan had averted another potential showdown, Yeh said, as newly elected Marshall Islands President Litowka Tomeing has indicated he would stick by Taiwan rather than push for ties with China as suggested by media reports last year.

"He has said multiple times that he would stick by Taiwan," Yeh said of the South Pacific nation's president-elect. "Speculation about a switch is untrue."

The spokesman for Tomeing's party told Reuters in November that the president-to-be backed Taiwan. (Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Nick Macfie and Sanjeev Miglani)

Taiwan braces as China's Yang speaks of 'ties with all countries'

Taipei - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, in an obvious warning to Taiwan, said China is ready to launch diplomatic ties with all countries, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported on Monday. Yang, who is visiting South Africa at the start of a four African nation tour, made the remark to CNA reporter's question, at his news conference in Johannesburg.

The CNA reporter asked Yang if China was planning to launch diplomatic ties with Malawi and was offering six billion US dollars to Malawi in exchange for Malawi's cutting ties with China.

Yang did not answer the question, but said: "China does things according to principle. The 'one China' principle has been accepted by the international community. This is a fact."

"China is ready to strengthen and launch diplomatic ties with all countries," Yang added.

Yang also refused to answer the question of when Beijing was going to announce the establishment of diplomatic ties with Malawi.

South Africa is the first stop on Yang's January 7-11 four-nation tour which will also take him to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Egypt.

His visit comes amid reports that Malawi is considering ditching its 41-year ties Taiwan in favour of China.

Malawi sent two ministers to Beijing on December 24 to sign a memorandum of understand to pave the way for launching ties, and a Malawian official said his country will announce opening ties with Beijing this month.

China is stepping up its diplomatic offensive against Taiwan - which it considers part of its territory - by trying to persuade the 24 countries which recognize Taipei to switch to Beijing.

Woman finds joyful people in 'the warm heart of Africa'

The people of Embangweni, Malawi, start every day with a prayer.

All across the African village, people gather at church or school between 7 and 7:30 a.m. for a time of singing and prayer.

“Their No. 1 dependency is on God,” says Cary Roberts, who has been visiting Malawi with two local churches since 2003.

“Malawi is called ‘the warm heart of Africa,’” she adds. “The Malawian people are the most joyful people we have ever met.”

Roberts is scheduled to talk about her experiences there at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the Forest Library Meeting Room. It will be part of the Lynchburg branch of the American Association of University Women’s (AAUW) January meeting.

Malawi, a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa, is bordered by Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. It became a fully independent member of the British Commonwealth in 1964 and a republic in 1966.

One of the country’s first significant Western contacts came in the 1850s with the arrival of explorer and Scottish Presbyterian medical missionary, David Livingstone.

It was through the mission work of some latter day travelers from Lynchburg, Dr. Harold and Barbara Riley, that Roberts and her husband, Robert Roberts, first heard about Malawi.

“Both of us had always felt it would be an opportunity and a challenge to serve somewhere,” Cary Roberts says. “And we had heard such good things about what (the Rileys) were doing. We have really felt it was a calling.”

The Rileys organized a more formal trip to Embangweni, Malawi, for members of their church, First Presbyterian, in 2003. The Robertses, members of Westminster Presbyterian Church, went as well.

During that trip, Harold Riley says they were told about a village called Kalikumbi, about 20 miles from Embangweni, which needed a lot of help.

Since then, they’ve done a lot of work in Kalikumbi, including building a manse for the village’s pastor, renovating schoolteachers’ houses and beginning construction on a new church, a project that is still in progress.

The Robertses have also begun reaching out to other villages. Most recently, they worked with a nearby village’s students to build 80 new desks for their classrooms.

“Don’t let her be humble about what she’s done there,” Riley says. “(She and Robert) have been extremely helpful to lots of people, aside from what our group’s projects have been.”

During the mission trips, they all stay at Embangweni’s Loudon Presbyterian Station, which is home to a hospital, a primary school, a secondary school and a school for the hearing impaired.

There’s also a mobile health clinic. During mission trips, Roberts says one person from their group goes out with the mobile health clinic every day to give out food, provide TB shots and test for AIDS, among other things.

During her first trip there in 2003, Roberts - a retired English professor from Georgia’s Kennesaw State University - taught English at a secondary school. In recent years, she’s become more active in reaching out to the different villages to find out what they need.

“The primary reason we go over there is to convey a Christian brotherhood that we care enough about them to come,” she says.

Once they find out each village’s needs, they set different projects into motion to address those needs.

The cornerstone of their work, however, is that they don’t do anything for the Malawians. They do it all together.

“I think that is the single most important thing we can do: do things with them,” she says. “It’s not our project. It’s their project.”

Roberts says the cultural attitude in Malawi is that educated people should not have to do physical labor, so their group had to teach a lot of the villagers how to paint and perform other construction tasks.

Obviously, that’s just the beginning of the cultural differences the group has encountered over the years.

Roberts says the women of Malawi are the primary workers. They cook, clean, look after the children and hike to get wood and water for cooking.

It only recently became legal for women to wear pants, she says, and the idea of them getting a secondary education is relatively new. But she thinks things are changing, in large part because of the church’s influence (Malawi is a primarily Christian country, and the largest Protestant denomination is Presbyterian).

“The church values women as much as men, and the men are being taught respect for women,” she says.

Most of the families there grow their own food, and some have chickens and goats, but you rarely see full-farm operations.

Their main diet consists of a greens and a mixture called nsima, which Roberts says resembles grits.

“There is very little protein, so one of the things we’re trying to teach them is to use soy.”

The culture is also very community-centered, Roberts and Riley say.

“Everybody depends on everybody else because so many times, they have drought and food runs out,” Riley says. “They really help each other very much. It’s an important part of their custom.”

Roberts says that if someone starts making any significant amount kind of money, they are expected to share it with everyone else in the village - something that probably sounds crazy to the average American.

But “you have to acknowledge that people have been living a particular way for a period of time, and that their way of living is radically different from ours,” Roberts says.

“We have a lot to learn from them.”