THE opposition Lucian Peoples Movement (LPM) has raised questions about St Lucia’s decision to open an Embassy in Taiwan.
The LPM said, announcement that the government had established an embassy in Taiwan was not only baffling from a foreign policy perspective, but also raised a number of serious questions concerning “the illusionary bubble within which the Saint Lucia Labour Party government has operated over the last three and a half years”.
It said that in light of the fact that Taiwan was not universally recognised as a sovereign state and had yet to settle its dispute with China over its political status, it was calling on the government of Saint Lucia to clarify whether its decision to open an embassy in Taiwan “amounts to a formal recognition or endorsement of the Republic of China on Taiwan”.
The LPM stated further, that, given the unsettled nature of Taiwan’s political status, coupled with St Lucia’s own financial constraints here at home, it would have been more sensible if the government of Saint Lucia had opted instead to appoint a cultural and economic representative in Taiwan, as opposed to “the more contentious and financially burdensome route of establishing an embassy there at this time.”
Said the party: “In light of this startling development, which now requires our nation to divert scarce resources towards maintaining yet another embassy abroad, the LPM calls upon the government of Saint Lucia to provide a public statement detailing the total cost of the operation and whether it has approached the government of Taiwan for financial assistance in this regard”.