Why Guyana matters to Taiwan
By Marcin Jerzewski, Chen Kuan-ting 葉皓勤，陳冠廷
Rather than a “diplomatic win,” the recently announced opening of a Taiwan office in Guyana proved to be a source of disappointment and displeasure. The government in Georgetown decided to halt the mutual establishment of representative offices less than 24 hours after the agreement was announced.
Unsurprisingly, the “China factor” appears to have been the primary reason behind this reversal. The Guyanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs explicitly stated that the country would “continue to adhere to the one China policy” as it nixed the agreement with Taipei.
Why does Guyana matter, though? International attention on this Caribbean nation of less than 1 million people has long been sorely lacking. Additionally, given its history of rigged elections, corruption scandals and institutional weakness, Guyana has been unrighteously dismissed as an unimportant player in global politics.
Taiwan thanks Biden for words to Xi
NEW TOWN SHERIFF? The White House said that US President Joe Biden told the Chinese president about his concerns over Beijing’s assertiveness toward Taiwan
By Lu Yi-hsuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Taiwan expressed its thanks to US President Joe Biden after he raised concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) about China’s increased pressuring of Taiwan, Presidential Office spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said yesterday.
Biden and Xi held their first phone call as national leaders yesterday, during which Biden brought up concerns related to Taiwan, Hong Kong and human rights.
Taiwan News Quick Take
Catch New Year’s sunrise
The earliest sunrise in the nation on Jan. 1 would occur at 6:33am at Dongqing Village (東清部落) on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), off the southeast coast of Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. Sunrise on Taiwan proper would first be seen a few minutes later at 6:35am at Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) in Pingtung County, the bureau said. Meanwhile, the last sunset of this year would occur at 6:12pm on Thursday next week on Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) in the South China Sea. On Taiwan proper, the last sunset of the year would be seen at about 5:25pm in Tainan’s Anping District (安平), Kaohsiung’s Cijin District (旗津) and Pingtung County’s Guanshan area (關山), it added. The bureau said that the forecasts are based on average atmospheric conditions, and the weather situation on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day could affect viewing.