Asunción, Paraguay, Aug. 14 (CNA) Paraguayan President-elect Santiago Peña has pledged that his administration will maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan, Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) told Taiwanese expatriates in Asunción on Monday.
Lai, in Paraguay to attend Peña’s inauguration on Aug. 15 as President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) special envoy, met with Peña on Monday as well as President Mario Abdo Benítez, and he hosted a lunch for Senate President Silvio Ovelar.
Later Monday, Lai hosted a banquet for some 300 Taiwanese expatriates from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, the United States and Canada at which he spoke about Peña’s assurances.
He said that after meeting with Peña, he believed that the bilateral relationship will be further consolidated and cooperation ties deepened.
Taiwan was a contentious issue in Paraguay’s presidential campaign, with Peña’s main opponent Efrain Alegre vowing to cut formal ties with Taiwan if elected.
Paraguay is Taiwan’s only formal diplomatic ally in South America.
In his meeting with Abdo Benítez, Lai said he affirmed that Paraguay should maintain friendly diplomatic ties with the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan’s official name), not because of an exchange of interests but due to the common values of the two countries, such as democracy, freedom and human rights.
As for the inauguration ceremony, Lai said President Tsai hoped that he and his delegation will further the international community’s understanding of Taiwan’s adherence to its core democratic values when they interact with world leaders at the event.
Also Monday, Lai said during a forum with new graduates and student representatives from Taiwan-Paraguay Polytechnic University (UPTP), that Taiwan will continue working with Paraguay on the UPTP project to help it nurture talent.
The university, located in Asunción, was founded in 2019 and has 514 students, according to National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech), which helps arrange teaching staff, the curriculum, and laboratory equipment for the school.
At the forum, Abel Ferreira Roig Ocampos, a computer science and information engineering graduate, shared his experience learning in Taiwan under a student exchange program.
Roig Ocampos, a wheelchair user who studied at Taiwan Tech for one and a half years starting in 2021 with the support of Taiwan’s government, is working as an information technology engineer at a bank after graduating from UPTP.
He commended Taiwan for working to make its facilities and services accessible and for being a country friendly to people with disabilities.
Lai arrived at 7:30 a.m. on Monday (local time) in Paraguay after a one-night stopover in New York.
During his journey back to Taiwan, Lai is scheduled to have another layover in the U.S., this time in San Francisco, on Wednesday (local time), according to Taiwan’s Presidential Office.
