Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, stung by his party's election rout and a diplomatic defection to rival China, met leaders around Latin America this week in a bid to avoid losing any more allies before he steps down in May.
Taiwan looks to its 23 diplomatic allies worldwide for political legitimacy as China, which has 171 allies, steps up pressure on those mostly small, impoverished nations to break ties.
The African nation of Malawi cut ties with Taiwan on Monday after 41 years of relations and established links with China.
China has claimed Taiwan as its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and pledged to bring the island back under its rule, by force if necessary.
Further shaking Chen, his Democratic Progressive Party suffered an overwhelming loss in a parliamentary election on Saturday, in part because voters believe the party has done too little to help Taiwan's economy.
To fortify relations in Latin America during his trip, Chen announced Taiwan would pay $40,000 to rebuild a hurricane-damaged school and hospital for its newest ally St. Lucia, a 170,000 population Caribbean nation.
Chen also agreed to be a spokesman for St. Lucia's tourism industry but said it was scenic enough to get by without his aid.
In Guatemala, for the inauguration of President Alvaro Colom Caballeros, he met the heads of state from five allied Central American countries and several non-allied nations, including Costa Rica, which broke tied with Taiwan in June.
"All (the allies) said in meetings they would not change their positions and would continue to support Taiwan," Presidential Office spokesman David Lee said.
Although Lee said no new aid had been pledged to Central America, local media quoted a Taiwan diplomat saying the island had donated $6 million to Panama for construction projects.
Riling China, which opposes official contact between Taiwan and the United States, Chen stopped in Alaska to refuel his plane en route to Latin America and on his return to Taipei. (Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Friday, 18 January 2008
Local school books bound for Malawi
TIGARD – On a cold and rainy street outside the Tigard-Tualatin School District’s Hibbard Administration Center, a cargo container was loaded with books Friday bound for subtropical Malawi in southwestern Africa.
The project is near and dear to the hearts of retired principal and current School Board Director Art Rutkin and his wife Lois, who served together in the Peace Corps in Malawi from 1964 to 1966.
“We taught in schools with almost no books,” Rutkin remembered, and he has worked tirelessly to collect books to send to the densely populated and landlocked country where the average annual income is $596.
“We started in March 2007,” said Rutkin on Friday, in between running back and forth between the flatbed truck holding the container and the storage room in the district headquarters where the books have been stored.
He was bringing water and food to the Tualatin High School CE2 students who were busy loading boxes of books in the storage room onto a forklift that carried them across the parking lot and street to the truck, where more students waited to load them into the container.
All this occurred under the watchful eye of a Department of Homeland Security agent, who was making sure that books were really being loaded into the container because Rutkin got a federal Defense Department grant to pay for the shipping.
Also on hand was the truck driver, who was ready to take off for Mobile, Ala., where the container will be loaded onto a ship bound for Africa.
Schools held book drives for the project, but Rutkin said that most of the books came after the school district adopted new language arts books, and the old ones became available last June.
“This shipment is mostly textbooks for kindergarten through 12th grade,” he said. “The rest are soft-cover books. There’s also paper, pencils, erasers, glue and other school supplies. We bought a lot at Target last summer during the back-to-school sales.”
He estimates that there are 900 boxes of books that weigh a total of 30,000 pounds. “These books are in great shape,” he said. “And English is the official language of Malawi, so the kids can really use them.”
Rutkin collected money for shipping the container, but thanks to the Defense Department grant, those funds can now be used by Peace Corps members to distribute the books throughout Malawi.
“That grant has been a Godsend,” Rutkin said. “The money we raised will be used instead to hire lorries and drivers to distribute the books.”
Rutkin has not returned to Malawi since serving there in the 1960s, but he has worked with a group of retired Peace Corps volunteers called Friends of Malawi and used its tax-exempt status to receive donations for the book project.
Rutkin was invited to talk about the project to a TuHS CE2 class and ended up asking the students in the alternative-education and work-experience program to help load the books.
The books were ready to be shipped by the end of last summer, but Rutkin had to wait all fall to get the grant and also jump through a lot of hoops to meet all the shipping requirements.
“We had to get official statements from the Malawi government saying the books were duty-free,” he said. “We had to get a group to accept the books. The U.S. Embassy in Malawi will accept them, and they will go into a U.S. AID warehouse, from where they will be distributed. I was ready to send them a long time ago, and what I needed the most was patience.
“The school district has been wonderful about letting us store them. When they get into the schools in Malawi, the books will be like gold.”
A typical Malawi classroom is huge with many students, according to Rutkin. In a biology class, for example, the teacher would carefully and precisely draw a frog on the blackboard for students to study since they do not have their own textbooks.
“These textbooks will be used daily,” he said. “They will make a difference. We are sending about 22,000 books, and 20,000 of them are textbooks. Twenty thousand books will make a lot of difference.”
Rutkin also is looking ahead – the school district will be adopting new math and science books for middle and high schools next year and for elementary schools the following year.
“Math is math – it doesn’t change,” Rutkin said. “And we’ll be able to send all those books to Malawi along with the teachers’ manuals.”
And he might have picked up a new profession along the way as well.
“Now that I know what I’m doing, I could write a manual on how to do this,” Rutkin said. “It’s not magic.”
ROC cuts diplomatic relations with the Republic of Malawi
The Republic of China severed 42 years of diplomatic ties with Malawi Jan. 14, following the African nation's decision to switch its allegiance from Taipei to Beijing.
ROC Deputy Foreign Minister Yang Tzu-pao said at a press conference in Taipei that he regretted Malawi's decision to establish diplomatic ties with China due to monetary enticements, and confirmed the cessation of all diplomatic aid projects in the African country funded by Taiwan.
After founding relations with Malawi in 1966, Taiwan assisted in the construction of the southern African country's infrastructure and the implementation of bilateral cooperative projects that both the Malawian people and government were satisfied with, Yang noted. However, China has never ceased in its efforts to lure Taiwan's diplomatic ally away and tried several times in the past to split ties between the two countries.
Last year, China offered Malawi a US$6 billion carrot to end diplomatic relations in favor of Beijing, Yang stated. And despite the government of Taiwan's continued friendship and sincere communications with the government of one of Africa's poorest countries, the Malawians chose to abandon their old friend, he added. China and its state-controlled companies have invested billions of dollars in Africa in a bid to tap natural resources for the Asian giant's growing economy and build Beijing's political influence in the developing world.
For the people and government of Taiwan, Malawi's move is considered enormously insulting and highly discourteous, Yang stressed, especially since the timing of the breakup came during President Chen Shui-bian and Foreign Minister James Huang's visit to Guatemala, a Central American ally, he added.
The Malawian defection leaves Taiwan with 23 diplomatic allies, four of which are in Africa, including Burkina Faso, Gambia, Swaziland and Sao Tome and Principe. Malawi was the third ally to severe diplomatic ties with Taiwan since 2006, following Chad and Costa Rica.
Yang criticized China for restricting Taiwan's international space by offering monetary incentives in exchange for diplomatic ties, and regretted Malawi forsaking its national dignity and commitments made to Taiwan.
The southern African nation was thought to be on the verge of switching diplomatic relations before Christmas last year, when Malawian newspaper Nyasa Times reported that high-ranking Malawian officials, including President Bingu wa Mutharika, were in Beijing for talks on establishing diplomatic ties. Speculation heightened earlier this month when both the Malawian president and foreign minister declined to receive Huang, who visited the former African ally in a last-ditch effort to save bilateral relations.
ROC Deputy Foreign Minister Yang Tzu-pao said at a press conference in Taipei that he regretted Malawi's decision to establish diplomatic ties with China due to monetary enticements, and confirmed the cessation of all diplomatic aid projects in the African country funded by Taiwan.
After founding relations with Malawi in 1966, Taiwan assisted in the construction of the southern African country's infrastructure and the implementation of bilateral cooperative projects that both the Malawian people and government were satisfied with, Yang noted. However, China has never ceased in its efforts to lure Taiwan's diplomatic ally away and tried several times in the past to split ties between the two countries.
Last year, China offered Malawi a US$6 billion carrot to end diplomatic relations in favor of Beijing, Yang stated. And despite the government of Taiwan's continued friendship and sincere communications with the government of one of Africa's poorest countries, the Malawians chose to abandon their old friend, he added. China and its state-controlled companies have invested billions of dollars in Africa in a bid to tap natural resources for the Asian giant's growing economy and build Beijing's political influence in the developing world.
For the people and government of Taiwan, Malawi's move is considered enormously insulting and highly discourteous, Yang stressed, especially since the timing of the breakup came during President Chen Shui-bian and Foreign Minister James Huang's visit to Guatemala, a Central American ally, he added.
The Malawian defection leaves Taiwan with 23 diplomatic allies, four of which are in Africa, including Burkina Faso, Gambia, Swaziland and Sao Tome and Principe. Malawi was the third ally to severe diplomatic ties with Taiwan since 2006, following Chad and Costa Rica.
Yang criticized China for restricting Taiwan's international space by offering monetary incentives in exchange for diplomatic ties, and regretted Malawi forsaking its national dignity and commitments made to Taiwan.
The southern African nation was thought to be on the verge of switching diplomatic relations before Christmas last year, when Malawian newspaper Nyasa Times reported that high-ranking Malawian officials, including President Bingu wa Mutharika, were in Beijing for talks on establishing diplomatic ties. Speculation heightened earlier this month when both the Malawian president and foreign minister declined to receive Huang, who visited the former African ally in a last-ditch effort to save bilateral relations.
Chen: Malawi break saddening but not surprising
President Chen Shui-bian says that Malawi's breaking of diplomatic ties with Taiwan is saddening but not surprising. Chen said that China will try to suppress Taiwan for as long as Taiwan maintains its sovereignty. The president was speaking at a press conference with Taiwanese media on his current visit to Saint Lucia.
Earlier this week Malawi broke off relations with Taiwan to establish ties with China. President Chen condemned China’s tactics to marginalize Taiwan in the international community. Chen also said China would continue its attacks regardless of which party holds power in Taiwan.
Chen said, "We have to express our sadness [over Malawi] although it is not at all surprising. We know that China’s diplomatic suppression, blocking and isolating of Taiwan did not begin when my party came to power in 2000. We should remember that in 1971 when Taiwan withdrew from the United Nations, we still maintained relations with 59 countries at that time. By 1988, just seventeen years later, that number had fallen to just 21."
With the loss of Malawi, Taiwan currently has diplomatic ties with 23 countries.
Chen said that both the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the opposition Kuomintang back Taiwan’s application for membership of the United Nations, which Chen said is a display of Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Earlier this week Malawi broke off relations with Taiwan to establish ties with China. President Chen condemned China’s tactics to marginalize Taiwan in the international community. Chen also said China would continue its attacks regardless of which party holds power in Taiwan.
Chen said, "We have to express our sadness [over Malawi] although it is not at all surprising. We know that China’s diplomatic suppression, blocking and isolating of Taiwan did not begin when my party came to power in 2000. We should remember that in 1971 when Taiwan withdrew from the United Nations, we still maintained relations with 59 countries at that time. By 1988, just seventeen years later, that number had fallen to just 21."
With the loss of Malawi, Taiwan currently has diplomatic ties with 23 countries.
Chen said that both the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the opposition Kuomintang back Taiwan’s application for membership of the United Nations, which Chen said is a display of Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Malawi seeking service-reservoir bids
The Malawi government is inviting eligible contractors to bid for the supply and installation of service reservoirs for water-supply project in the northern city of Mzuzu.
The assignment is part of the multimillion-dollar national water-development programme, which is financed by a pool of international financiers led by the World Bank.
"Bidding will be conducted through the international competitive bidding procedures specified in the World Bank's guidelines and is open to all bidders from eligible source countries as defined in the bidding documents," says Malawi's Northern Region Water Board in a statement.
It explains that the assignment will involve the supply and installation of three Braithwaite service reservoirs of 1 000 m3 (15,6 m x 15,6 m x 4,8 m) each, including civil works, the provision of inlet, overflow, drain pipeworks, and all valves and fittings necessary for the operation of the reservoirs.
The water board says the assignment should be completed in five months.
Interested bidders may obtain further informationabout the tender and inspect the bidding documents at its offices in Mzuzu.
Tender documents in English may be obtained on submission of a written application and on payment of a nonrefundable fee of $40.
Meanwhile, as part of the National Water Development Programme, the Northern Region Water Board is also seeking bids from eligible contractors for the development of groundwater sources in the northern Chitipa and Mzimba districts.
Tender documents can also be purchased from the water board on payment of a nonrefundable fee of $40.
The assignment is part of the multimillion-dollar national water-development programme, which is financed by a pool of international financiers led by the World Bank.
"Bidding will be conducted through the international competitive bidding procedures specified in the World Bank's guidelines and is open to all bidders from eligible source countries as defined in the bidding documents," says Malawi's Northern Region Water Board in a statement.
It explains that the assignment will involve the supply and installation of three Braithwaite service reservoirs of 1 000 m3 (15,6 m x 15,6 m x 4,8 m) each, including civil works, the provision of inlet, overflow, drain pipeworks, and all valves and fittings necessary for the operation of the reservoirs.
The water board says the assignment should be completed in five months.
Interested bidders may obtain further informationabout the tender and inspect the bidding documents at its offices in Mzuzu.
Tender documents in English may be obtained on submission of a written application and on payment of a nonrefundable fee of $40.
Meanwhile, as part of the National Water Development Programme, the Northern Region Water Board is also seeking bids from eligible contractors for the development of groundwater sources in the northern Chitipa and Mzimba districts.
Tender documents can also be purchased from the water board on payment of a nonrefundable fee of $40.
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