A Look at ROC and Dominican Republic Ties|長達77年情誼今斷交 台灣邦交國剩19個
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The Republic of China and the Dominican Republic had diplomatic relations for 77 years, but most Taiwan residents don't know much about the Caribbean nation. Some can name famous Dominican baseball players. Not many know the Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, much of the foreign aid was transported to Haiti through the Dominican Republic.
Major League Baseball star Robinson Cano made a visit to Taiwan many years ago. He became friends with Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-ming during their time with the New York Yankees. The Dominican Republic has produced many famous baseball players in addition to Cano. One example is Sammy Sosa, whose name should be familiar to Taiwanese baseball fans.
Actually, many of their professional athletes have played in Taiwan. When Taiwan was just beginning the Asia Winter Baseball League, they sent teams to Taiwan to take part for two straight years.
The Dominican Republic was a Spanish colony for three centuries, and its official language is Spanish as a result. It established diplomatic relations with the Republic of China 77 years ago. In April, Taiwan's Fleet of Friendship visited the Dominican Republic to strengthen bilateral relations. Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, much of the foreign aid that arrived was transported to Haiti from the Dominican Republic.
The website of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows it has no so-called representative offices around the world. It only has two representative offices. One is located in the Dominican Republic, and the other in Haiti. In other words, Beijing's desire to progress its relationship with the Dominican Republic is long-standing.
Six months ago, the Dominican Republic's minister of defense visited Taiwan and met with President Tsai Ing-wen. She presented him with a gift valued at NT$10 billion, which included 90 Hummer vehicles and two helicopters to consolidate relations. There were also numerous academic exchanges between the two countries. Ministry of Education statistics show 91 Dominican students studied in Taiwan at 29 schools during the 2017 school year.
Out of these 91, 37 are studying for an academic degree. There are also 15 overseas Chinese students, and 39 students studying the Chinese language.
There are currently no Taiwanese students studying in the Dominican Republic. The Ministry of Education says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make a decision on what to do about the students studying here on government scholarships. It adds if the students are willing to stay in Taiwan, it will help to coordinate with their schools and provide assistance to them.
