Paraguay’s tech minister defies Beijing sanctions, says Taiwan ties ‘not up for negotiation’
Paraguay’s technology minister said on Thursday that sanctions imposed on him by Beijing over his country’s ties with Taiwan would only accelerate joint projects with the island. Gustavo Villate, who heads the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, wrote in a lengthy social media post that the relationship with Taipei would “never be on the negotiating table”. He also suggested…
Paraguay's technology minister, Gustavo Villate, dismissed Beijing's sanctions over the nation's Taiwan ties as a punitive measure designed to force cooperation with Chinese telecom suppliers. Villate asserted that joint projects with Taiwan would not be up for negotiation. Beijing has targeted Taiwan's diplomatic allies, including Honduras and Nauru, in an effort to isolate Taiwan.
Paraguay remains the only South American country to recognize Taiwan. Villate argued that the sanctions were aimed at protecting Chinese companies from exclusion from Paraguay's networks. The US has condemned these sanctions, emphasizing its opposition to China's coercion. Villate outlined Paraguay's recent AI data center project with Taiwan, which he expects could surpass the size of Itaipu, a hydroelectric dam shared between Paraguay and Brazil.
Written by urgent.news from Reuters Business via SCMP's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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