《TAIPEI TIMES》Pena vows to bolster ties with Taiwan

VP VISITS STUDENTS: William Lai met with graduates and students at the Taiwan-Paraguay Polytechnic University, saying that they are the hope of Paraguay’s future

By Chen Yun and Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporters

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Paraguay’s new president promised to deepen ties and cooperation with Taiwan at a meeting with Vice President William Lai （賴清德） in Asuncion on Monday.

Lai landed in the Paraguayan capital on Monday morning, where he was welcomed by Paraguayan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Raul Silvero and Intendant of the City of Asuncion Oscar Rodriguez, the Presidential Office said.

He visited Mario Abdo Benitez on his final day as Paraguayan president at his residence and met with Santiago Pena at the presidential residence the day before he was to be inaugurated as president, it said.

Lai said Abdo firmly believes that the friendly diplomatic relationship between the two nations is not based on an exchange of interests, but on shared values.

Pena promised to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan and discussed cooperation plans, Lai said.

At a lunch banquet held for Paraguayan Chamber of Senators President Silvio Ovelar, Lai conveyed Taiwanese’s best wishes to Pena’s incoming government and expressed hope that the two nations would continue to bolster cooperation.

He said he hoped that cooperation would receive the support of Paraguay’s chambers of senators and deputies.

On Monday night, speaking before a group of overseas Taiwanese from the US, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Paraguay, Lai thanked them for their efforts to put Taiwan on the world map.

President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） hoped the delegation that he is leading in Paraguay could conduct exchanges with confidence and tell the world about Taiwan’s dedication to democracy, freedom and human rights, he said.

Lai also met with the first batch of graduates and students at the Taiwan-Paraguay Polytechnic University, telling them that they are the hope of Paraguay’s development and the bridge for facilitating cooperation between Taiwan and the South American nation.

The university, a collaboration between the two countries that was launched in 2019, sends its students to Taiwan for a one-and-a-half-year exchange program, it said.

“Taiwan will always have your back,” he told the students, adding that they can always seek help from Taiwan if they encounter problems during their studies in the country.

In related news, Taiwan and the US urged China not to overreact to Lai stopping over in the US, as it is a common practice.

Lai made a stopover in New York before departing for Asuncion and is to stop in San Francisco on his way back to Taiwan, an arrangement that has sparked an angry reaction from China.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday called Lai a “separatist” and “troublemaker through and through,” while the Chinese Maritime Safety Administration on Friday announced that it would conduct military exercises from Saturday to Monday.

“There is no reason to over-torque this transit into anything escalatory,” US Department of State principal deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told a press briefing on Monday.

Such transits are routine given the distance of the trip, Patel said, adding that the US is “not interested in deviating from the status quo. It is not any kind of pretext for coercion or provocative activity.”

In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Jeff Liu （劉永健） told a news conference yesterday that China has no right to intervene in normal exchanges between democratic countries.

Should China choose to take provocative actions, it would be China — not Taiwan or the US — that is undermining regional peace and stability, he said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES