Thursday, November 13, 2008

Taiwan to close trade offices in LatAm


Taiwan, in a sharply worded message aimed at a few Latin American countries, said its Ministry of Foreign Affairs will close some of their offices in Latin America.

Saying some of its trade and economic representative offices have "failed to fulfill their functions," Chou Lin, deputy director of the Ministry's Central and South American Affairs Department, said the move will save money.

"The planned move is aimed at saving meaningless government spending, particularly for trade and economic offices in countries that are unfriendly to Taiwan," Chou said.

He said the Venezuelan government places restrictions on Taiwan's diplomats and requires them to renew work visas every three months.

The Mexican office, however, he said, has helped create two-way trade and investment between Taiwan and Mexico. Other countries, like Argentina, Brazil and Chile produce similar efforts, he said.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Photo: Agence France-Presse, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou before a trip to Latin America

No comments: